Growing up in basketball-crazed Indiana in the ’50s, Debbie Millbern mastered her game on driveway courts against neighborhood boys. Touted as a gifted athlete with an unrelenting passion for competing, she was relegated to the bleachers while the boys played on school teams. Though conflicted and confused by cultural limitations, Debbie continued to embrace her love for sports. Playing basketball in college gave her a taste of organized competition, but also exposed glaring inequities between men’s and women’s athletics. After passage of the federal law (Title IX) in 1972 mandating equality in sports, Debbie redirected her passion into coaching. She faced a monumental and unprecedented challenge when her high school girls’ volleyball team was forced to play against boys in a dramatic 1975 state championship final.
Meeting Her Match takes readers on a heartfelt and entertaining journey as Debbie chronicles her life as an aspiring athlete before Title IX, and as a coach after. Her engaging memoir is a real-life history lesson about the evolution of women’s sports, and builds to an exciting climax. Not only will readers find themselves smiling, crying, or cheering with every page, they’ll be inspired by the timeless themes of determination, perseverance, and hope.
