Sports Her Way

One November day in 1983 I found myself seated at a desk on the second floor of a converted airplane hangar in Los Angeles. Anyone who knows me knows that sitting is not what I do, especially in nylons and a skirt, but there I was trying to digest everything. Phones were ringing, people scurried about, and the energy was unmistakable. It was a thrilling scene that happens only once every four years. And I was there. All I could think of was that a dream had come true, a fantasy of being part of the highest level of athletic achievement on the planet. You see, two weeks earlier I was recruited to be the director of gymnastics competition for the 1984 Olympics -- the dream and the challenge of a lifetime rolled into one mesmerizing event. I couldn't help thinking what a long way I was from Boston, where I grew up enjoying sports but never dreaming that it would dominate my every waking moment.

How did I get started in sports as a girl? The seeds were planted by my parents, who always encouraged me to be active when I was a child. In our house of five chi ... read full excerpt from Sports Her Way: Motivating Girls to Start and Stay with Sports ebook