¢ The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, March 29, 2000 5 Athletes (continued from page 1) swim teams at College Misericor- dia. “For the first time, Division I schools were required to offer scholarships to women at the same rate men were receiving them. That really paved the way for awhole generation to enter the world of sports.” Joyce Tinner, the softball coach at Dallas High School, is a Title IX beneficiary who is happy to see the number of opportunities for women in sports has continued to increase. “I went to Penn State on a full ride for softball,” she said. “When I got there, I was one of five who received a full athletic schol- arship. By the time I left, the softball program was offering 12 full rides every year.” Three current Lake-Lehman seniors have received scholarships to play field hockey at the colle- giate level and Jean Lipski, who coaches the Black Knights, said the possibilities are virtually lim- itless for well-rounded young women. “Just a few years ago, more money was given to field hockey, swimming and basket- ball,” said Lipski. “If you're a solid field hockey player who has good academics you can pick a school. It's really something when you think about how many scholar- ship opportunities are available, especially, if you're willing to travel out of the area.” The influx of money into Divi- sion I athletics has had a ripple effect at all levels. “Athletics is just one part of a big puzzle,” said Finn. “If you look beyond the Di- vision I universities and Division II schools that can offer athletic scholarships you will notice that female athletes still have advan- tages when applying to Ivy League schools or Patriot League schools. All the kids trying to get into Brown, Princeton or Stanford have the grades but girls who play a sport or are in the band have something else to offer and schools look for things like that.” Jennifer Buckley, who was re- cently: ‘hired as ' College Misericordia’s track and field coach, has a first-hand knowl- edge of the opportunities avail- able to scholar athletes. She graduated from Bishop Hoban High School near the top of her class before moving on to Kent University where she was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame following a stellar collegiate ca- reer. RELIGIOUS SN HAVA ofl 5 BACK MOUNTAIN HARVEST ASSEMBLY - 340 Carverton Rd., Trucksville. 696-1128. Pastor, Daniel S. Miller. Christian Educa- tion for all ages, 10:00 a.m. Wor- ship 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. Wed., 7 p.m., "Genos" youth serv- ice. Midweek home groups; call for days and times. Weekday prayer 6:30-7:30 a.m. Visitors welcome. DALLAS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH - 4 Parsonage St., Dal- las. 675-0122. Rev. William D. Lewis, Pastor. Morning Worship 10:30 a.m., Sunday School at 9 a.m. PRINCE OF PEACE EPISCO- PAL CHURCH, 420 Main St., Dal- las, 675-1723. The Rev. Robert A. Nagy, Rector. 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While pursuing a graduate degree she volunteered as an as- sistant coach at the University of Tennessee, gaining experience which eventually led to a full-time coaching position at Misericor- dia. “Coaching is something I al- ways hoped I'd be doing,” said Buckley. “It's a hard thing to break into at this level because there are so many people who want these jobs and there are so few of them out there. It’s still kind of a strange thing to find a woman who is a head coach, especially one who coaches both the men’s and women's programs.” Coaching is field which has re- mained predominantly male, de- spite advances in nearly every other area of women’s athletics. “I think change has been slower in coaching both at the high school and college levels,” said Buckley. “Misericordia is different because there are a lot of women on staff and it's a school that was founded by women so there is a different attitude here; it's more accepting I think than some other schools.” Buckley said she doesn’t think women have been deliberately kept from the coaching ranks but instead attributes the high per- centage of male coaches to hu- man nature. “I think the coaching situation has a lot to do with the fact that people tend to hire their friends,” she said. “Men are most comfortable working with other men so they tend to hire them. There are a lot of women teaching in high schools and at universi- ties but many of the veteran teach- ers are a part of a generation that didn’t get involved with coaching sports. We're just now starting to see younger women get into coach- ing more.” As the number of women coach- ing and playing sports has grown, schools and community recreation programs have begun offering more choices. “I grew up in a fairly large city, and there wasn’t a girls’ soccer team at my high school,” said Edkins. “Now, every neigh- borhood has an organized soccer league and a lot of times you'll find moms coaching the teams. There is just so much more out there than there was even just 10 years ago.” The evolution of women's ath- letics is starting to reach it’s full- est potential as a generation of girls are growing up with female athletes as role models. “Teenag- ers look at people like Mia Hamm and they see an athletic looking woman as an ideal,” said Edkins. “It’s not just the tall skinny mod- POST PHOTOS/KASIA McDONOUGH Jennifer Buckley, head coach of track & field at College Misericordia, discusses the results of a weekend road race with Kelly Nye. els who are considered beautiful, which is so healthy.” . college levels.” . Jen Buckley Misericordia track coach Muscles are chic and physical fitness is a priority in the lives of many young women. “My daughter's high school soccer team has been lifting weights since the fall in preparation for their spring season,” said Edkins. “That was unheard of a few years ago. Now if you're not involved in some kind of strength training regimen you're the exception. The reality has gone from ‘wow, you're lifting weights - that’s strange’ to ‘wow, Nancy Edkins on the pool deck at College Misericordia. Edkins is shown leaning over a starting block as she chats with a lap swimmer. Villa Roma RY / fy, (or (4 Pizza & Pasta Mouse Scenic Harveys Lake Take outs - 639-1818 Open: Wednesday-Sunday 4:00 to 11:00 p.m. Sunday open at 3:00 p.m. Closed Mon, and Tues, Just Say, The Dallas Post now accepts Visa & Mastercard for all of your subscriptions, classified ads, and display ads. For maximum convenience, Call our office at 675-5211 with your account and we will set you up immediately. The Dallas Post 675-5211 you're not lifting weights that’s strange’.” Increased emphasis on condi- tioning has led to changes in other areas. “We have a better under- standing of the science of sport,” said Buckley. “We know more about the physiological limits of the body and we have learned some things about conditions unique to women athletes. For example it was recently discov- ered a lot of female long-distance runners suffer from iron deficien- cies.” This new base of knowledge has led to improvements in the way sporting goods companies manufacture products for women. “Women’s sneakers used to be a smaller version of men’s shoes and maybe they changed the color or something,” said Buckley. “But now Nike and some other compa- nies have discovered this whole new market is opening up and there is a demand for products designed to meet the needs of the woman athlete.” The mania surrounding the U.S. womens soccer team during last summer's World Cup was a powerful example of this new market. “With the media coverage expanding and women’s sports receiving more attention, people have started to realize girls can be great athletes,” said Lipski. “That realization has led to changes, not just in professional or colle- giate sports but all over. It has brought more fathers out towatch their daughters participate in sports. As a coach, I look up and down the sideline and it's filled with fathers who are there to watch girls’ field hockey.” Flossy Finn, the former field hockey, basketball and softball coach, is amazed by the pace of progress. “I just get teary eyed when I'm watching a WNBA game or something like that on t.v.,” she said. “Last year when my husband and I were watching the women’s soccer team play, I said, ‘can you believe all these people paid money to watch women play soccer?’. We've reached a point where you hardly hear people say ‘well, she’s pretty good for a girl’. Women are now respected for their talents.” Your Sports & News items are welcomed at The Post BUY ONE GET ONE FREE ANY FRAME IN STOCK SINGLE VISION OR FT 28 BIFOCAL LENSES 2ND PAIR EQUAL OR LESSER VALUE With this coupon. Not CRYSTAL io CENTER valid with any other of- fers. 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