UR Athletics Celebrates National Girls & Women in Sports Day

In celebration of the 37th annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) and the 50th anniversary of Title IX, we asked some of our head coaches, staff and administrators to share their stories, how they got into athletics, how athletics and Title IX has impacted their lives and how they pay it forward.

NGWSD, powered by the Women's Sports Foundation (WSF), recognizes student-athletes, coaches, administrators, lawmakers and more, who are committed to providing equitable access to sports for all girls and women.

Wendy Andreatta, Head Field Hockey Coach

Before 1972 there were no athletic scholarships for women, female athletes received less than 2 percent of college athletic budgets and very few women believed a career as a coach was possible. With the passage of Title IX, opportunities for women in sports started to expand. Personally, Title IX provided me the opportunity to earn a full scholarship to play field hockey at UConn and to be coached by a woman, legendary Hall of Fame coach, Nancy Stevens. That experience was transformative for me – playing for a trailblazing Title IX advocate who made sure that the women in her program never forgot these opportunities did not exist before Title IX. Part of my responsibility as a woman coaching women is to ensure that all girls see a future for themselves playing sports, coaching sports and working in sports.

Barbara Hartwig, Assistant Director of Track & Field

I entered 9th grade in the fall of 1972 and our school had three sports for women: Tennis in the fall, Gymnastics in the winter and Track & Field in the spring. There were no junior high options other than the Girls Athletic Association, which was more like an extension of physical education classes. Our high school had offered these sports since 1968, so they were pretty well established. Not a lot of options, but it was a start. In my first season of track, we had a head and assistant coach and a regular practice and meet schedule, but no school-issued uniforms. I won my first conference title in the 880 as a sophomore wearing a “boys” gym suit consisting of cotton shorts and a reversible t-shirt with my name hand-printed on the front. My friend (and eventually my college roommate) finished runner-up wearing a one-piece, stretch cotton number with a full-length zipper up the front. By my junior season, we had actual track uniforms. Our longest race on the track was the mile and the hurdle races were 8- yard high hurdles and 180-yard low hurdles, no pole vault or triple jump events and rarely was anything done co-ed. No co-ed practices, meets or shared practice times- and definitely no shared coaching staff. I remember having a conversation with the boys’ coach in which he stated quite firmly that high school girls would never run any distance past the mile and certainly would never pole vault! That was pretty common thinking at the time, but it never felt right to me. I have been very happy to see women gain the right to compete in the triple jump, hammer/weight throw and pole vault, in addition to a full complement of distance races. These events were all added during my coaching career and it was such a thrill to see!   

My high school had an extremely successful boy’s cross country program and I became a fan of the sport.  They advanced to the state championships every year I was in high school and won titles in my sophomore and junior years. When an announcement was made in the late spring of my junior year that the coach was having a cross country interest meeting, I made up my mind to attend. The coach was a favorite teacher of mine and although I got some funny looks from the boys attending, nothing negative was said. I’m pretty sure they thought I wouldn’t last. I had tried to convince some of my girls' track buddies to attend but to no avail. I trained over the summer and went to the first practice in mid-August.  Southern Wisconsin is known for hot, humid summers and this day was no exception. I made it through the practice with some good-natured ribbing from the guys. My Mom saw how red-faced I was and said “wouldn’t it be better to just forget this whole thing? You made your point”. That was definitely the clincher! I was hooked, but I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. The boys were mostly friendly – they were defending state champs, and this girl was no threat to them – but I did go through a kind of initiation with plenty of pranks. In the end, we were all pretty good friends and they supported me 100%. There were only three girls' races that season, but I saw a great interest in girls' distance running all over the state. I moved on to college sports the next year, but our school and state had a dedicated girls' cross country program in place from that point on. I was proud that I challenged the system and helped establish the sport at the high school level. I didn’t consider myself a pioneer at the time, it just seemed like the practical thing to do. I am grateful that my high school coach and administration allowed me to participate.

I always knew that I wanted to follow my mother and grandmother into the teaching field. I also saw that all of my coaches were teachers first and that made an impression on me. Coaching is teaching first and foremost. Equally important was that my favorite coaches were all good people. They all wanted the best from us even if that meant being blunt, enforcing rules and applying discipline if needed. I always loved English, Art and Physical Education classes, so I chose Art/PE. My plan was to get a high school teaching position and coach track and cross country. 

I attended a Division III college known for its outstanding physical education and sports programs. I wasn’t sure I could make the teams, but I did and enjoyed it thoroughly. It was an established and highly-successful program, but it still had flaws. We had three head track coaches in my four years and two different cross country coaches in the same period. We often traveled in vans or school buses and you were on your own for most meals (meaning you either bring something or you don’t eat!). When we stayed overnight in a hotel, it was two to a bed. The conference meet was pretty much the highest-level meet until a national championship was established a few years later. We were fortunate to have one of only three indoor facilities in the state, so most of our season was spent at home. Meets were not co-ed, so one team would set up in the morning, host their competition and then the other gender would hold their meet and clean up afterward. We had one co-ed relay meet and I think everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The coaching staffs were also separate. Today most schools do a lot of things co-ed and it works well, but I sometimes miss the simplicity of single-gender meets. Our outdoor facility was an old, cinder track owned by the city. We only had one single outdoor competition at home during my four seasons!  Today they have one of the finest outdoor facilities in the nation and just opened a new indoor facility last month.

My college cross country coach became my favorite coach and mentor. He was a last-second hire who explained that he never wanted to coach women and was only being a good soldier and filling in. To him we were weak, emotional beings who probably weren’t serious about running anyway. Fortunately, he was dealing with a group of strong-minded individuals who proved him wrong. In a very short time, he came to truly love coaching women and swore he would never coach another men’s program. And he didn’t. He is now retired after coaching national team champs, individual national champs and numerous All-Americans. He worked hard to bring our program from 12 women my freshman year to 50 my senior season. He let me work as a volunteer assistant during my 5th year. I learned a lot about coaching in that short fall season. When his wife was about to give birth to their first child, he asked me and another volunteer to take the team to the regional meet, run the coaches' meeting and coach the team on race day. He told us we knew everything needed to succeed and that we would be fine.  We were thrilled and frightened at the same time, but it all worked out and our team qualified for the national meet. 

Ladi Iya, Head Volleyball Coach

I grew up in Nigeria, and like most kids, got into sports to be with my friends. Although most of my coaches were men, I was fortunate to have a woman as a volleyball coach and she was the one who hounded me to play volleyball, then encouraged and supported me, which led to a DI scholarship to play volleyball in college. After my college and professional career, I realized how much I loved volleyball and wanted to stay in it. I had previously wanted to be a teacher, and coaching allowed me to teach and have fun with a sport that is unparalleled excitement.

Athletics has, as we say, made my life Meliora. Coaching is not just about getting on the court and coaching your sport. It's interactions with parents, mentoring students, recruiting, traveling, and communicating with a myriad of people; one can’t help but learn things about yourself and about people and their natures and motivations …I work to help my student-athletes achieve their goals and try to embody the lessons that have carried me: a desire to learn, a competitive spirit, effective communication, high and reasonable expectations, empathy, honesty, mental health care advocacy, unconditional love, appreciation for the people who support you, perspective, confidence, resilience, and perhaps most importantly (especially as women) self-advocacy.

This golden anniversary of Title IX is exciting and humbling; everything I’m able to do as a coach and former athlete, is because of the work of multiple incredible women, and positive progress has been made in women’s athletics. It also is a sobering reminder of the gross gender inequities in athletics that continue to exist and the massive amount of work still to be done. For example, in the State of Women in College sports report that the NCAA put out for the 50th anniversary, research showed that 50 years later, high school girls’ participation in sports still has NOT reached the boys’ level from 1972. In all divisions of sports, the allocation of overall resources to men’s sports (including salaries, budgets, etc.) continues to outpace those given to women. Additionally, only 32% of female college athletes are minority women, across divisions. In administration, 55% of associate directors of athletics 55% are White men, 30% are White women, and 4% are Black women.

Kris Shanley, Associate Director of Athletics for Facilities/Senior Woman Administrator 

If it wasn’t for my parents embracing my passion for sports I wouldn’t be here. Their continued support (even for the Yellowjackets, finding their way to every UAA Softball Tournament in Florida when I coached) was lifelong. They carted me all over the country as a kid to play softball on my travel team, my Dad coached and my Mom threw me BP. They loved that I found a way to follow my passion for sports as an athlete, coach, official and as an athletics administrator. This was all happening just as Title IX was signed into law. But they never gave it a second thought when I just wanted to play. I am confident they did not miss one of my college softball games at Brockport, not one. (I grew up in Vestal, so the three-hour trip one way took some effort!)

In addition to having my parents give me permission to follow my dreams, my role models early on were my junior high PE teacher, Ms. Patinka and my first female coach, Deb Reynolds. I’m sure neither one of them have any idea how much their passion for sport changed my life. I saw in them what I wanted to be. In college, Dr. Shirley Carmichael was amazing. She taught Biomechanics, telling stories of how she would speed her snowmobile onto the lake in the spring after the thaw, because “mechanically it was possible to drive a snowmobile on a lake”. She would tell us how she would spend all summer pulling the engine apart to dry it out for the next spring attempt. I learned from here that even if things seem impossible, there is no reason not to keep trying. And her sense of humor and way with words was just simply fun…she coached our softball team for a few months at Brockport my first year and she would give words of encouragement by saying “Atta boy, Girl!” I use that now and then still. 

Finally, my college softball coach, Len Maiorani. He was the toughest coach there was for everyone. Administration, umpires and yes, us. But he always had our back. He pushed us to be great and we were…he taught me how to be firm but fair and to fight for things you care about. 

I cannot being to describe the number of opportunities athletics has afforded me. I have so many met so many amazing people, thousands of students who are my inspiration to do what I do day in and day out! Officiating gave me the opportunity to travel and again to meet some great people, officials are people too. Coaching allowed me to see how genuinely hard coaching is, and it allows me to appreciate what our coaches do here at Rochester every day. All of my athletic experiences (as a player, coach, official and administrator) have given me experiences that allow me to see things from a wide perspective which helps me in my work today. 

Paying it forward is really simple for me. I prioritize my work with our students, I often invite interns to work with us each year. I use my experiences to help educate and mentor other women who are interested in pursuing a career in athletics. 

Title IX was an attempt to level the playing field, but I still see discrepancies in how women and women’s programs are treated in athletics. It will be contingent upon us and other women to stay in the conversation, advocate for each other and celebrate the accomplishments of each other. I benefitted from Title IX as so many others have, but we cannot lose sight of the importance of legislation in education. We need to afford the next generation of women more opportunities, with levels of support to assure the health and wellness of athletics. Athletics is healthier when anyone who wants to play can play.

Ashley Van Vechten, Head Women’s Soccer Coach

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was undoubtedly a watershed moment within women’s sports and should be celebrated, however for me, the 50th anniversary of its passing is a bittersweet reminder that progress is not linear.  My great-grandfather attended the university over 110 years ago, and in his old Interpres yearbooks, you can find many Rochester women’s sports teams from the early 20th century, decades before women were discouraged and eventually excluded from collegiate sports.  For me, Title IX is both a stark reminder of the collective energy needed to bring about social change and a call to each of us working within athletics to continue protecting and upholding equity for all within sport.

Margaret Yerdon-Grange, Head Softball Coach

Sports have always been a huge part of my life, with two sisters who also played Division I college softball and parents who coached us every step of the way. I was a gym rat as a kid, always playing basketball, soccer and softball. Hanging out at the high school practices when I was in elementary school. Our high school pitchers used to throw against a brick wall with a strike zone, and when my Mom was coaching I was always there. I would go up probably as young as seven-years-old and pitch to the wall and work on my fielding. I was at practices and games at a very young age just taking the game in, becoming a student of the game. Being a student of the game has never changed for me and that is ultimately why I was inspired to become a college coach. We have the privilege to keep learning and to keep teaching our student-athletes year in and year out. It is amazing to see how our athletes grow as softball players and people in four years.

Getting to come to work every day and coach a sport I love is pretty cool! The opportunities and amenities that women and girls have in sports have certainly changed for the better since I was a kid, and my goal is to keep pushing that envelope to have the standard be the same for men and women. I think if every person that coaches girls and women does that we will have more females participating in sports, and getting all the positives that can be gained from playing sports. I strive to give my student-athletes a great experience that will impact them far beyond college. I think the skillset they leave college athletics with will enhance any career path.  As a coach, I also think instilling a team culture that has strong bonds is probably one of the greatest things you can do as a coach because you are creating lifelong relationships.

Title IX is one of the reasons I have had so many positive experiences in the world of athletics, which used to only be for boys. I am grateful for those that came before me: Billie Jean King, Anne Meyers and Joan Joyce to name a few. Their work has built the foundation for what girls and women have access to today in the world of sport. Although we have come a long way, women still have more obstacles than men to achieving success on the field or court as an athlete, coach or in the front office. My hope is that this continues to change.