Coaching Girls Basketball

By the time Title IX came along, I had been coaching boys for 2 years. Title IX required schools receiving federal money to treat boys and girls equally. We had just finished a basketball season and were undefeated. I thought I knew how to coach and how to win. Boy was I wrong.

The girls wanted a team the prior fall but we didn’t have the money for a coach or uniforms. Several decided to go out for the boys’ team. I had always emphasized conditioning in the early weeks of practice. I decided to push all the players. It wasn’t a lot of fun for the students, and before long, all the girls and some of the boys quit. The same was going on with Gerry’s team. I wrote earlier about the courage Lu Ann showed in staying out all season.

Boys’ season ended and I volunteered to start a girls’ team that spring, 1975. This began new lessons in coaching. The boys would accept any activity whether it was a  drill or running. The boy attacked the drills with determination and enthusiasm. The girls would complain. The boys enjoyed practice. The girls would rather stand and talk or complain.

I thought I would never get them to play with the enthusiasm the boys displayed. I coached the boys for defense and we had always dominated the other teams. The girls liked to shoot, but didn’t like pressuring the ball. We didn’t have uniforms so the girls wore boys’ jerseys over their PE clothes. 

Then we had our first game. The transformation was amazing. The girls attacked their opponents and tried to steal the ball. The played with aggressiveness. 

In the very first game, the girls initiated something I had never seen with the boys. From the first jump ball, one of the girls on the jump circle held her arms over her head. Because all the girls were new to the game, the players from both teams started to imitate this. They even did this during free throws. You can jump doing this, but not very high. Just try it!


The girls continued this for all the years I coached. These photos are from years later and the practice was still in effect. Sometimes a coach cannot control his players!

The girls also were often not sure what to do so they would stand and hold the ball when they got it. Because I had coached my girls to be aggressive, they would grab on to the ball. The other team imitated this too. Thus began the constant jump ball. The boys would have about 4 or 5 jump balls a game in addition to those starting each quarter. The girls would have 4 or 5 jump balls every 2 minutes. Often, one jump ball would immediately result in another jump ball as the girl catching the first jump ball would hesitate to throw it to someone. Then, of course, they would all stand around the jump circle with their hands over their heads.

In spite of the constant stopping of play, my girls played aggressively. None of the attitude I had seen in practice was displayed. They played hard against teams with much larger enrollments. We were 2-2.

Not all of the other schools in our conference had added girls’ sports, so we continued to play against larger schools the following season.  The sport remained in the spring in 1976. In spite of that, we had a regular schedule, a longer season, and many more players. 

The girls finished 4-4. Near the end of the season we got uniforms.

In 1976 the schools agreed to move the season to a fall sport. The girls played well and won more than we lost.  I had fun and so did the girls. I was proud of their aggressive play, even if they often were over matched. Often our girls would tackle the ball.

 I continued to coach girls for several seasons. I was fortunate to coach some outstanding athletes and some wonderful personalities. I was always disappointed that cheer leading was a greater interest for some of my players. Although many could have played on the high school team, they chose to become cheerleaders instead. I often asked why they wanted to cheer for the boys rather play play for a team. Culture changes slowly.

Things that the girls did that the boys never did in addition to the unique approach to jump balls and free throws: Stand around and talk and gossip during practice; put adhesive tape to hold their hair back as no jewelry was allowed,;have a technical foul including a player thrown out of a game for fighting and arguing with the referee (yes, you Sarah J.); and come to my home for an after season party. 

Eventually the girls were coached by the female teachers. Still I loved them and they made coaching quite interesting. Every-time I see a jump ball, I think of them.