Kicking Grass Taking Games: Women fight for their right to play the beautiful game

In 1971, fewer than 270,000 girls in the U.S. participated in high school athletics, and not a single school offered girls’ soccer. The passage of Title IX in 1972 heralded a sea change in sports and girls flooded the soccer fields across the country. Women born too early to receive the full benefits of Title IX refused to stay on the sidelines. They took to the filed to play soccer and discovered a new passion that has endured into their fifties, sixties, and beyond. How did they come to play such a demanding sport? What were the challenges of learning the game, establishing teams and leagues, and finding fields? What were their experiences as coaches, referees, and administrators in the male-dominated soccer establishment? And now of an age when joints ache, vision has deteriorated, and running is painful, why are so many of them still playing? This is their story, in their words.