Title IX through my lense

As a former sports reporter, I received many compliments along with slings and arrows. It comes with the territory.

One that I received semi-regularly from mothers and daughters was, “Vince, I want to thank you for caring about girls sports as much as you do boys sports.”

I appreciate the sentiments, and yes I have my beliefs but I never thought of doing things any other way in my 18 years as a sports reporter. Football followed by boys basketball are the bellcow of any high school athletic program (college too for that matter) but when it comes to celebrating success I’m all for it, regardless of whether the sport is football, basketball, soccer or badminton.

It’s recollections like that which make me think of Title IX. So what exactly is Title IX? Well, in the simplest of terms, it was established in 1972. The basic premise behind the ruling was, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

When I first arrived on the Upvalley beat for my first stint in 2004, I learned that on a local level the one and only Donna McCornack played a vital role at St. Helena High.

Talk to many St. Helena High graduates and they’ll tell you that McCornack was an influential figure in their lives as a teacher and/or coach. In the latter role, she coached the St. Helena volleyball from 1972-1989. During that time, the Saints won two CIF state championships (1982 and 1984), seven league titles, five section championships and two more state runner-ups.

McCornack, however, is legendary in the North Bay and the Coastal Mountain region in Northern California because she was instrumental in leading the charge for equality in girls sports. She fought vigorously for the inclusion of all girls teams in the North Central League I.

When McCornack was a student at St. Helena High, she quipped, “Our choices were cheerleading and marching band.” Keep in mind, she graduated in 1965.

McCornack made that very statement when I interviewed her for the St. Helena Star the night of the Saints Athletic Association Fajita Fest in 2005. McCornack was the guest of honor that night at the annual dinner that raises funds for St. Helena High athletics.

As a 18-year veteran of the sports journalism industry before exiting in December 2014, sometimes interviews are a blur, but what McCornack said that night resonates with me to this day.

As a 43-year old, I believe I can offer a unique perspective.

I am a first-generation American with both of my parents coming (and I quote Archie Bunker): “To These Here U S of A Nation States!”

From It-Ley. Well, Italy. My dad’s side settled in Napa, my mom’s side in St. Helena. My mother was the oldest of three and graduated in 1957.

Oddly enough, her younger sister (who I still proudly address as “Auntie” before her name) attended St. Helena High within the same time frame as McCornack and became a cheerleader. Well, my grandmother in her broken English would say, “Ma, Vince, she was a ponpon girl.” However, you talk to women of that generation, being a cheerleader was an accepted reality.

Little did I know but several years later as the youngest of five children I would witness how important Title IX would become.

One of my older sisters graduated from Napa High in 1982 and wanted to try out for the soccer team. Mind you, this was before the days of girls soccer teams. That scenario meant she had to play on the boys team. Suffice it to say, the idea of a girl even thinking she could play sports with boys did not go over well at all.

My sister has told me on a few occasions how the boys would get overly physical when competing in practice or games, essentially trying to get her to quit. Well, something strange happened, my sister lasted the entire season and earned the respect of her peers.

What I am most trying to suggest is that three things are equally true, and this is a broad generalization. For openers, your 60-and-over crowd of females (a least a segment) did not think anything of having their options being limited to marching band and cheerleading. On the other hand, your 25-and-younger crowd does not know any other scenario besides females having a largely uninhibited opportunity to play sports.

As for my crowd (ages 40-50), that was the era when girls playing competitive sports was picking up speed but not as en vogue as it is now.

To truly understand the premise of Title IX, however, it is not just about girls having the opportunity to play sports. It was about them having the opportunity to compete in sports on a more level playing field.

Throughout my years of covering females competing in athletics, there are definitely a few that would more than adequately compete well against the boys but that number is few and far between. Therefore, Title IX has opened up some avenues for girls to compete in sports that might not have otherwise even attempted to do so.