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Patiently answering a constantly ringing telephone and fielding a string of questions from students, staff and visitors, Shirley Boyd did not give the impression of a pioneer in women's sports.
But nearly three decades ago, the receptionist at Flour Bluff High School and a few friends started one of the most successful recreation programs for girls in South Texas. From its grass-roots beginning, Little Miss Kickball has continued to flourish during an era of mushrooming athletic opportunities for women.
Acting on her 10-year-old daughter, Cheri's, desire to have a sports activity of her own, Boyd, Barbara Miesen and Marty Caldwell started a program that has grown to 18 leagues statewide and involves nearly 5,000 girls.
"We came up with kickball because it was a sport the girls were already familiar with in elementary school,'' Boyd said. "Also, it was something all girls could play without having outstanding athletic talent. My youngest daughter (Lori) started at 4, and she's now playing in women's leagues.''
Shirley Boyd died of cancer several years ago, but her memory is honored every year with a tournament and a scholarship. Her sister, Lori, was the first scholarship recipient.
Boyd and the sport's players, parents and officials give an almost simplistic explanation for the program's success: Kickball creates an environment where girls can have fun while developing the life skills of friendship, teamwork and sportsmanship.
"All three of my daughters were in the program,'' Boyd said. "It's something the girls feel is their own - a place for them to have fun. The first year (1970), we took girls between the ages of 8 and 15. We finished registration with 24 girls - we needed 30 for three teams - so we went out and recruited some others. The teams were the Doves, Sandpipers and Penguins.''
The Laguna Little Miss Kickball League played its first few seasons on vacant land that is now the parking lot for the Flour Bluff High School gym. It has since moved to a Waldron Field location with 19 teams and about 190 girls.
"We didn't have any money, so we had to make everything ourselves,'' Boyd said. "I remember we tried to make our own bases. First we tried sand, but it leaked out. Then, pinto beans. We put them in a shed, but they got wet and started to grow. Everything was a struggle. If it hadn't been for the parents, we wouldn't have made it.''
Boyd and her fellow founders codified a playground game that seemed to have as many rule variations as players.
"We contacted colleges and associations, but there weren't any standardized rules,'' Boyd said. "We started the first year with 17 rules, mainly designed to control the kicking and pitching of the ball. Now, we have a complete rule book.''
There are 18 leagues in seven Texas cities operating under the Little Miss Kickball International name.
Robert Panky, a sports psychologist and associate professor of kinesiology at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, is not surprised by the sport's popularity.
"Most of the Little League-type programs are very beneficial for both small males and small females,'' Panky said. "The emphasis should be teaching developmental skills and having fun, and kickball is a very good activity for that.''
Panky said the biggest problem for junior programs was the introduction of adult values not shared by the kids.
"The concerns need to be with the development of the individual, not winning,'' he said. "Research on junior sports shows that adults are concerned with the kids having fun, learning sportsmanship, skills and winning. However, the kids say they just want to have fun and be a member of a group. There is no mention of winning.''
Panky also said youth recreation programs were growing because of parents' concern for the safety of their children.
"It's a safe, supervised environment,'' Panky said. "The days are long gone when parents feel comfortable sending their children off to unsupervised playgrounds.''
The comments of Little Miss Kickball players echo Panky's remarks. Jennifer Walden, who plays for the Oso League, said, "It's a place where girls can be themselves and have fun.''
"It's fun like a family,'' said Melissa Bernal, of the Southside League. "It's a really understanding place for girls. You can develop self-esteem, confidence and leadership skills while having a good time.''
Melanie Trent, of Southside offered: "It's about having friends. Winning just comes out here.''
Laguna League parent Carol Sutton, who has three daughters in the program, adds, "It's an all-girl thing. These kids live for kickball season.''
Tina Saenz, a past Little Miss Kickball International president, admits that many conversations about her sport include the question, "What is the enduring quality that perpetuates kickball and lifts it above playground peers?''
"The answer we get from the girls is that it's a sport that's never been taken away by UIL (University Interscholastic League) competition,'' said Saenz, who lives in Alice. "It's a sport open to any girl from (age) 6 to 18. In kickball, everybody gets to play at least three innings every game. It's a game where the girls can choose to be as aggressive as they want to be.''
Unlike scholastic sports, the Little Miss Kickball program straddles the line between being a recreational outlet and a competitive sport. There is no drive to win at all cost, no compulsory attendance rules, no in-your-face confrontations between coaches and players. There are no outside standards such as academic regulations limiting competition, and no overt ridicule of less-talented players by fans, rivals or teammates.
"The skill levels of the players differ drastically,'' said Marianne Mojica, Southside League president. "We have some fantastic athletes from Carroll High School in our program, and Oso has the same situation with King. They come here like everybody else to have fun.''
Mojica started in the Southside program at the age of 7 and has been involved with the league for 27 of its 28 years. The league's four-field complex on McArdle Road is named after her father, Jerry Smith.
The four-field Oso playing complex on Ennis Joslin Road is named after Inez Cofer, who still coaches in the junior division (ages 9 to 11) where she feels she can have the most positive influence on her players' development.
"It's a game that any little girl can play,'' Cofer said. "I've been here 26 years. The biggest reward is teaching the girls. Don't get me wrong, I want to win. But the teaching is the important thing. Teaching them how to win and lose, and how to get along with others. From kickball, they learn, `This I can do myself.'
Dorsey Shedd, who has enjoyed Little Miss Kickball as both a junior and as an adult player and coach, places a different spin on its popularity.
"There is a sense of nostalgia with this sport like there is for baseball,'' Shedd said. "There's an emotional element to it, and the girls are drawn to the competition.''
Mike Gwyn, president of the Oso League, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, stressed the game's social value.
"It brings together girls from all different backgrounds,'' Gwyn said. "It's a big thing in the kids' lives. I'll start getting calls shortly after Christmas each year from girls asking if it's getting time to play.''
Organizers are proud of the program's ability to retain its players despite widening opportunities for girls in soccer, fast-pitch softball, Little League baseball, basketball and volleyball.
"Girls will leave (kickball) to try a new program, but they seem to return to kickball,'' Saenz said.
"I've tried basketball and jump rope,'' said Madison Mojica. "But our whole family does this (kickball). It's fun and I seem to have a lot more friends out here.''
Kickball involves a rubber playground ball put in play by kicking instead of batting. On elementary school playgrounds, it has nearly as many different rules as players. But in Little Miss Kickball, the rules are uniform, with statutes governing kicking, pitching and fielding.
Little Miss Kickball offers competition on four levels - pee wee (ages 6-8), junior (9-11), senior (12-14) and teen-age (15-18). Like most junior athletic programs, the sport becomes faster and more sophisticated as girls move up the competitive ladder.
Practice begins in March, with the season usually opening by April 1. The regular season schedule, which extends into June, includes league games and tournaments matching teams from various leagues. The program concludes with a state tournament, pairing All-star teams from the different leagues, during the July 4 weekend.
The Little Miss Kickball rules are more sophisticated than playground statutes. For example, in Little Miss Kickball, kickers cannot call their pitches. In playground variations, players are allowed to request that pitchers roll the ball to them in a certain way - such as "slow rollies'' or "fast bouncies.''
Also, instead of taking a thunderous running approach from the backstop to kick the pitch, Little Miss Kickball players must kick from within a circle. This rule places the program's 125-foot outfield fences in proportion to the kicking ability of the players. Pitchers must deliver the ball from a defined pitching area to the plate, where an umpire calls balls and strikes. Various dimensions of the playing field - such as the size of the kicking circle and distance between kicker and pitcher - are dictated by age group.
"This isn't as easy a game as many men and boys think,'' said Shedd, the senior Cosmos coach and former Little Miss Kickball player. "If they tried it (with our rules), they would find it much tougher than they think.''
One major element of playground Americana remains. Defensive players can gun down runners on the base paths by hitting them with a thrown ball. Of course, this tactic also was legal in 19th century baseball.
Games last six innings, with 10 players on the field at a time. The players must furnish their own rubber-cleated shoes, but receive caps, T-shirts and shorts bearing team names and sponsors. The umpiring, coaching and concession stand staffs and ground crews are all volunteers. The average field hosts two games a night. The stands are filled with parents, other relatives, friends and boyfriends.
"Everything in Little Miss Kickball is voluntary,'' Mojica said. "The facilities were built by volunteers. It's hard to find people who have the time to a devote to a project like this. Many of us spend 40 hours a week out here in addition to our full-time jobs.''
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