Women Sports Talk: Exactly What We Need!

It is amazing what will happen when determination, vision, knowledge, and passion align for a common goal. The expression that immediately comes to my mind is “Wow”! When I was briefed on the mission for the Women’s Sports Talk Show and website, it was akin to the feeling I had when I learned that my high school had begun to sponsor a girl’s basketball team, or when I first logged onto the internet. With each development, I felt the need to sing “You’ve Come A Long Way Baby”! Finally, there is a forum that provides broad base information and interaction relative to women’s sports; amateur to the professional ranks.

As a parent, I spent many hours trying to find information to share with my daughters relative to women in sports. There was not any particular one-stop source to tap into that allowed one to ask questions, read information, or hear from players with significant experience and knowledge. Most of the information I shared with them was what I had experienced or learned from family and friends. Thank goodness for family and friends! I have made it my mission to share as much information as possible with other student-athletes and their parents to alleviate reinvention of the wheel on an ongoing basis.

It is my goal to provide as much information as possible with the hope that others can learn and continue to build from my experiences as a sister, wife (formerly) and mother of athletes; amateur to professional. Years ago, I concluded that I was destined to support and observe versus participate. To be quite honest, it only took one pick-up game versus Basketball Hall of Fame athlete Lynette Woodard for it to be crystal clear to me that my game was not where it needed to be for me to consider playing at the collegiate level. Some of us (starting with me) are destined to be in the stands (an avid spectator) instead of on the floor or field. And that is where I have primarily spent most of my time for many years.

I remember going to my first football and basketball games at ..Sumner.. ..High School.. in ....Kansas City.., ..Kansas.... when I was about four years old. That was a very long time ago. Trust me. My oldest brother Kenny was a student-athlete who later played football at ....Washburn.. ..University.... (where I attended my first college football game). I met my first best friend (Kim Robinson) because our brothers were teammates in high school. We still share laughs about those days of attending our brothers’ games. My brother Leonard (fondly known as Hugie) played basketball (and football for a season or two) at Sumner as well. Through his experiences as a student-athlete, I had my first lesson in college recruiting. Imagine the recruiting rules then (or lack thereof) back in those stone ages. I also remember my mother and father doing all that they could to assure that their kids played sports, rather than sports playing their kids. They had very little tolerance for anything short of integrity and respect. Leonard eventually played Division I basketball at Kansas and Long Beach State, as well as professionally with the Seattle Supersonics before retiring due to an injury while with the Washington Bullets. I watched my brother Robert play basketball through high school (..Wyandotte..) and then in college at ....Wichita.. ..State..... He was a second round draft selection by the Sonics after his college days. My sister Pam was a member of the volleyball and track and field teams at ....Wichita.. ..State.... where she qualified for the NCAA finals in the shot put event. My sister Phyllis was a sprinter on the track team from middle school to college (....Arizona.. ..State....), and my sister Melanie had a season or two of high school volleyball. Me? I lasted a season of club basketball (a local team formed at the neighborhood church) when I was in the seventh grade, was the sports page editor in junior high school (one way to assure I made it to all the games), and then returned to my other love of baton twirling as a majorette in high school.

All of those experiences, along with the experiences gained while married to a professional football player assisted me with guiding my six children as they participated in sports. Each of them participated as student athletes at the Division 1 level. A few years ago, I attempted to calculate the number of sporting events that I had attended in support of my children. I finally stopped after I reached approximately twenty-two hundred sporting events! The thought of it exhausted me. I have also washed more sports uniforms than any team manager known to man. In essence, I have seen a few sporting events in my lifetime. I am currently enjoying my daughters’ final college season of basketball. Sure, I have enjoyed watching my brothers and sisters. I have immensely enjoyed watching my sons. When I take all of those experiences into consideration and think of how it has helped me to support my daughters; women who are twenty-one year old student-athletes…it gives me the chills! Therefore, I am committed to sharing with you via blogs and this website with the hope of continued growth, development, knowledge and passion for women in sports. Stay tuned.


Lynne Gray