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Fairfield ProfileLanier, coachinggirlsIathletics wasnaturalBy DIANE! RUDERJournal-News WriterAre athletes bom or made?Maybe a little of both, we think.But in Debbie Hensley Lanier’s case, her development into an outstanding athlete and, later, an outstanding coach may be due to the fact that she was the only girl on the street where she grew up.Mom and Dad (Mr. and Mrs. Bill Hensley, Magie Ave.,) wouldn’t let me play baseball with the boys anymore,’’ said Mrs. Lanier of her switch from tomboy to gjrl athlete. So Dad started the Civitan girls' softball leagues. There were six teams made up of fathers with tneir daughters in sort of the same situation. .From there, the young Debby went on to participate on the high school level in basketball, softball and volleyball for four years in each spoft. She was named outstanding Girls' Athletic Association member and Outstanding Female Athlete at Fairfield High School during her senior year.After graduation in 1969, Debbie went on to Eastern Kentucky University where she majored in physical education, receiving her B.S. in 1973. During her senior year, she was named outstanding senior in Chi Omega sorority.She also participated during her four-year college career in girls intercollegiate basketball and for three years played intercollegiate field hockey.Deciding to major in physical education was almost a natural for her because I was always interested inathletics.One of my biggest influences in high school,” said Mrs. Lanier, was one of the coaches I had. Sandra White, was a big influence. . . She presented a different attitude about physical education. (Her attitude was) that winning wasn’t everything. It was how you played the sport and how you conducted yourself (that was important).I w as also a gym aid, recalls Mrs. Lanier of those high school days. “She trusted me enough that I could conduct a class. She kinda' added the icing on the cake that physical education was what I wanted to go into.Although she teaches health instead of physical education. Mrs. Lanier has in the three years she’s been at the high school coached very successfully. During her first year as girls’ basketball coach, her team lost only two games during the season. Last year the varsity team lost only three games. They tied with Taft for the GMC title. ’She coached the FMS girls’ softball team last year and won the GMC with a top-notch 11-1 record.Mrs. Lanier is quite proud of her record. The biggest thing I feel I’ve accomplished is two OMt trophies. I feel I’Ve got dedicated girls who are willing to work on their own — spend time on their own.They’re just super-dedicated.I think the biggest thing that really made me proud (of last year’s records), was that we all won it.Girls sports have changed since Mrs. Lanier played high school ball. When she played basketball only two of the six-women team could cross the center line and run with the ball. Now there are five-women teams and they play the same rules as do men. In volleyball, we weren’t playing power, said Mrs.Lanier.Fairfield’s girls sports haven’t changed nearly as much as have some other high school girls’ athletic programs, according to Mrs. Lanier. We’ve always had the facilities and uniforms.”Mrs. Lanier will begin a new career in April with the birth of her first chilcl She may or may not come back. We’re just playing it by earright now, said Mrs. Lanier.Her biggest disappointment during the years she has taught has been being unable to teach physical education other than for a short period during a summer school session. But she has learned a lot since she began teaching health, she said.She and her husband Paul, who is a computor programmer, are looking forward to and excited about” the new experience that parenthood will bring. They are active in Governor’s Park Baptist Church where he serves as song director and she does a little” substitute teaching on the junior high level.Mrs. Lanier’s hazel eyes gleam and her beautiful smile lights her face as our conversation is interrupted by Assistant High School Principal James H. Jones. He tells of the high school faculty vs. WSAI DJ basketball game held this past week. Jim Scott made mention over the P.A. system during the game that “his good friend Debby Lanier is out of shape — she’s going to have a baby,Jones tells us.Scott also made mention of the same thing on his radio show the net morning, said Jones.Mrs. Lanier may be side-lined for a while by the upcoming event, but one feels sure, after talking with her, that sports, in some form or other, will always be a part of Debby Lanier’s life.
Newspaper Details
Hamilton Journal News
Hamilton, Ohio, US
Sun, Nov 23, 1975
Page 38
Full Page
Clipped by
Lane P.
OH, USA 12 Aug 2018
Other Publications Near Hamilton, Ohio
Hamilton Evening Democrat
Hamilton Daily Democrat
Hamilton Weekly Hamilton Telegraph
Daily Telegraph
Hamilton Guidon
