Next week, the Indiana High School Athletic Association will begin its 40th girls basketball state tournament. There are a lot of great stories from that first “official” season of girls basketball and the tournament that made history. Stories like the governing body of high school sports didn't think girls were capable of the rigors of running up and down the court like their male classmates for a full game, so they were planning to make games half-court only. Seriously. Fortunately, when the IHSAA began to acknowledge girls basketball as an official sport in 1975, the girls and communities in our area were more than ready. The GAA program was strong here, and when the green flag flew on girls hoops in Indiana, a lot of our schools hit the courts running. Of course, Warsaw's girls team winning that first state championship with a skill and precision that could never have been expected by Indiana basketball's founding fathers only threw gasoline on the fire. And there was no turning back. Since then, the girls game has steadily grown. While back in those early days most communities had one really good player, now many high school teams have two or three. The depth of talent has been enhanced by the allure of college scholarships now that the NCAA started hosting a national championship tournament in the early 1980s. Now those players from the 70s and 80s are giving back to the game by coaching, and their daughters are well represented on current rosters. People who remember the early days can confirm that the skill level of current players has advanced significantly in every aspect. The skill in ball-handling and shooting, the speed at which the players move up and down the court – it really is fun to watch. The myth that female athletes give up their ability to be seen as girls by being athletic has been abandoned (thank goodness). Girls spend their share of time in the weight room and I hope no parent will be offended when I say those girls still look very much like girls. I hear this a lot: “Well it will never be like boys basketball.” Well, duh! Of course it won't, and if you look at it like that it will never live up to that standard. But that's not the girls' fault – that's an unrealistic expectation. Here is a challenge to you. If you want to see what girls basketball is now and how far it has come, buy a ticket to the Tiger Den in Warsaw on Saturday, February 22 for the girls semi-state games. Sit in a gym filled with people who understand that their team is one win away from going to the state finals. Feel the buzz in those moments just before the teams take the court to warm up. And then watch the girls play basketball and realize they really have come a long way. I dare you to be there at that moment and NOT realize that girls basketball has evolved into a tremendous product over the last four decades. As someone who makes a living following high school sports, it has been an honor to cover girls basketball for the last 24 years at the radio stations in Warsaw, and for many years before that as a scoreboard operator in high school and a news reporter in college. I hope you will take some time to watch a sectional game or two next week, if nothing else to wish girls basketball a happy 40th birthday. But please ... no black balloons ... these girls are just getting better with age.
