As I sit here and watch the second round of the Women’s Big Ten Tournament with the Iowa Women currently leading Michigan St, it just struck me where women’s athletics are at right now.

I’ve coached middle school girls forever.

#ohhaveyouever

99% of people could care less about middle school athletics as a whole. Being a girl dad, I do. Coaching girls is much different than coaching boys. Girls need the relationship and they will run through a wall for you. Just tell them to run through the wall, like you can with boys, they will give you a side eye and walk away.

As I’ve coached, I’ve watched the explosion of women’s sports as a whole. Even before Caitlin Clark, you had the WNBA women where winning is automatic. College women’s basketball had some amazing teams, along with gymnastics, ice skating, and women’s hockey, all who brought in fans, money, and excitement for their sports.

Caitlin Clark just added a whole boatload of gas on that already burning fire. Men who never EVER talk about women’s basketball are talking mad crap about teams. People going to overseas with the Hawkeye gear on got approached about Caitlin.

And now, women’s sports are all over the place! It’s amazing to see. This middle school coach loves seeing how confident women are in their skin, doing something that they love.

In the end, the growth of women’s sports has been amazing and with younger girls watching their role models do thing that have never been done, thinking “I could do that,” there no telling where these sports could go.

My hope: They only continue to grow their games!

And Iowa just won their first revenge game and I’m pretty excited. They are playing their best basketball and they could play with anyone. It’s fun to watch. Go Hawks!