BRADLEY — A year after the implementation of Title IX, which prohibited gender discrimination at the federal level and essentially paved the way for girls and women’s sports to be recognized equally to their male counterparts, Darla Moldenhauer, Joan Streit, Brenda Kirts and Nancy Brown kickstarted girls sports at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School in 1973.

The four coaches combined to coach volleyball, tennis, badminton, basketball, softball and track and field, the first six sports to be offered at the school. And as this year’s Boilermakers volleyball team prepared to host Bolingbrook Thursday night, they didn’t do so until they honored those who broke the glass ceiling 50 years ago with a Cheers to 50 Years pregame ceremony, just a part of the weekend-long celebration at the school.

After a luncheon Thursday afternoon and before Thursday night’s game, members of the first-ever volleyball team were honored and recognized, as each veteran volleyball player was escorted onto the court by a current player.

They each walked past high-five lines of Bolingbrook varsity and Bradley-Bourbonnais JV players and received a plaque from Bradley-Bourbonnais athletic director Mike Kohl. Moldenhauer, who was the first volleyball coach at the school, was escorted by one of her former players, 2000 graduate and current volleyball coach Leigh Reiniche, before an emotional Reiniche presented Moldenhauer with an art piece commemorating the 50th anniversary.

“I tried to keep it together, obviously that didn’t work out very well,” Reiniche said of her emotional walk with Moldenhauer. “... Fifty years later at BBCHS, them coming back is a huge event that coach Moldenhauer said we need to do.

“We tried to jump on help as much as possible, and for us to be part of something like this was huge.”

Moldenhauer, who also took over head coaching duties on the softball diamond from Streit in 1975, was the head volleyball coach from 1973-2004 and head softball coach from 1975-1997, save for a two-year absence in softball in the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons. She said it was important to honor a group of girls who are of great importance to the school, even if they didn’t recognize that importance at the time.

“Tonight was a special night, having these first athletes from 1973-74,” Moldenhauer said of Thursday’s festivities. “They were true pioneers, and not all of them knew that at the time.

“They were just girls that wanted to play sports.”

Celebration continued Friday with an assembly for current girls student-athletes. They were allowed to head to the school’s auditorium to hear from several of the inaugural female student-athletes at the school and were able to see artifacts, trophies and other objects, including the one set of uniforms all six athletic teams had to share with one another during that first year.

“If you were the badminton team and had a competition on Wednesday, and basketball had a competition on Wednesday, the coaches would have a discussion on who needed them more,” Moldenhauer recalled. “Whoever got them, they would compete, the coach would collect the dirty, sweaty uniforms, take them home and wash them, and bring them back for the next team.

“...It took a few years, but that was just one of the many things.”

Reiniche was a standout Boilermaker roughly halfway into the 50 years, graduating from the school in 2000. She’s emphasized to her players before what the past half-century of progress has looked like, noting that her eighth grade year was the first year Bourbonnais Upper Grade Center offered girls basketball, as well as being a part of the first volleyball team that was allowed to play in the main gym, which had previously been known as the “boys gym.” But she also knows that her players were able to get an even deeper glimpse through the past two days.

“I hope this is eye-opening for them to appreciate what we have here,” Reiniche said. “We still have work to do and gaps to fill, but it’s so much better than what it has been.”

While Moldenhauer noted having all women on the girls sports staff was common at the onset of Title IX due to most men not wanting to coach girls sports, that has changed throughout time, with men finding more and more coaching jobs in girls and women’s sports. But as the Boilers celebrated their 50th anniversary this weekend, they were able to do so while also recognizing that all 14 girls sports programs currently have a woman as the head coach.

“I’m so proud of Mike Kohl and the Bradley-Bourbonnais administration for providing leadership opportunities for women,” Moldenhauer said. “When we started we had all six women coaches, in between we’ve had both, good men and women, but to allow women the opportunity to provide leadership roles, we know women can do it, they just need an opportunity.

“It’s heartwarming for me to see that.”

The gatherings in recent days have also allowed generations of Boilermakers girls athletes to come together, including mothers, daughters and even granddaughters. For Moldenhauer and other longtime coaches, that includes seeing three former players, Reiniche, current assistant volleyball coach Missy Daugherty and current athletic performance training teacher and assistant strength and conditioning coach Amanda Hammond, not only back at Bradley-Bourbonnais as coaches, but also as mothers to student-athletes.

“The [current] student-athletes are standing on the shoulders of people like Leigh Reiniche and Missy Daugherty and Amanda Hammond,” Moldenhauer said. “All three of those coaches have daughters now, and those three women are standing on the shoulders of those athletes who were introduced [Thursday].”

Raiders outlast Boilers The Boilermakers rode their high emotional wave to a 25-16 first set in Thursday night’s matchup, but Bolingbrook emerged victorious after winning the final two sets, 25-13 and 25-12. Emmerson Longtin had a team-high six kills to go along with eight digs, which tied Ella Walter for the team lead, and an assist. Brooklyn Daugherty added three kills, a dig and a block. Walter led the Boilers with nine assists and Emilee Fitzgerald had four blocks. The Boilers (11-12) host Manteno at 6 p.m. Monday. {related_content_uuid}a1ad931f-ce1e-4e49-bab1-b80c1f12c30e{/related_content_uuid}

The Boilermakers rode their high emotional wave to a 25-16 first set in Thursday night's matchup, but Bolingbrook emerged victorious after winning the final two sets, 25-13 and 25-12.

Emmerson Longtin had a team-high six kills to go along with eight digs, which tied Ella Walter for the team lead, and an assist. Brooklyn Daugherty added three kills, a dig and a block. Walter led the Boilers with nine assists and Emilee Fitzgerald had four blocks.

The Boilers (11-12) host Manteno at 6 p.m. Monday.