Like virtually everyone involved with female athletics, hall of fame coaches Kimbrook and Kim Tennal, the winningest husband and wife coaching duo in Kansas history, are thankful for Title IX, which opened doors for females across the United States 50 years ago.
The Tennals, who grew up in the 1960s and '70s, only regret that it didn't happen sooner.
"It's come a long, long ways, it was just slow,'' said Kimbrook Tennal, best known for dominating coaching runs at Nemaha Valley (now Nemaha Central) and Centralia. "I always felt like it was such a rip-off that the girls in my class and the ones before that didn't get to do any sports at all.
"I didn't realize that until my first year as a coach. I coached an eighth grade girls basketball team and I didn't know girls were that competitive. I didn't know they could work that hard. I didn't know how tough they were, but I found out my first year and then I realized what a ripoff and what a cheat it was for the kids before.''
Added Kim Tennal: "It's great that they've come this far, but it took a long time.''
But Kimbrook said there's no doubt that countless lives have been changed by Title IX.
"Girls playing sports for the last 50 years in Kansas has changed and altered so many lives,'' Tennal said. "Girls in Kansas are pole vaulting 13 feet. That is amazing. Girls are even wrestling now. Women are coaching Division I, high school, and junior high sports. Girls are officiating football and basketball in college and even the pros. The growth of girls sports and what they have been allowed to do and been able to do in just 50 years is amazing.
"But still I will always wonder how different the lives of the girls before Title IX would have and could have been if they had only been allowed to play sports.''
The Tennals, who now live in Urbandale, Iowa, are both members of the Kansas State High School Activities Association Hall of Fame, with Kim inducted in 2021 and Kimbrook in 2020.
During 19 years at Centralia, Kim Tennal and her Lady Panther volleyball team posted a record of 582-47 (.926), and made 17 state tournament appearances, winning nine Class 1A state titles with a state record of eight in a row from 1997-2004 with Kimbrook serving as her assistant coach.
During that span, the team posted an amazing record of 311-11 (.966), posted three undefeated seasons (1997, 1999, 2000) and a winning streak of 126 matche
"My favorite years coaching were the years that Kim and I coached together,'' Kimbrook said. "Coaching together when our daughter, Miklannet, was on the team was the most special time in our coaching careers.
"Together we coached the Panthers to eight straight state titles when there were over 100 teams in Class 1A. The first three titles came when our daughter was on the teams, so that made it so very special for our family.''
Before and after her time at Centralia, Kim coached at three different high schools and took all three to the state tournament. Her overall high school volleyball record is 788-145 (.845).
"It was a great time and I was really lucky and blessed to be able to teach and coach in communities that supported us and the girls believed in us,'' Kim said. "It was just a lot of fun.''
In 20 years as head volleyball coach at Nemaha Valley (3A) and Centralia, Kimbrook Tennal's record was 791-49 (.941).
In 19 trips to the state tournament, his teams won 11 state titles, along with five runner-up and three third-place finishes.
Kimbrook coached six undefeated seasons, which included a state-record 137-match winning streak and other streaks of 80, 78, 76 and 52 consecutive wins. He finished his volleyball career by winning five of the last six 1A titles and posted a 90-1 record in the last two years.
"We tried to instill into the girls that we could not be outworked,'' Kimbrook said. "Everybody says that, but not everyone understands how you have to do that and how much repetition it takes to get good and to get really good.
"I would serve hundreds and hundreds of volleyballs to my girls, probably thousands of balls, and Kim and I would toss and throw. She would throw over and over and over and we didn't scrimmage. We never scrimmaged, we just drilled and drilled and drilled. People don't understand how much work went into it. They just think, 'Oh, you had these girls.' Yeah, we had girls and they worked hard and we were successful because of the hard work.''
Kimbrook also experienced outstanding success in his 14 years of coaching girls basketball. His record of 307-48 (.865) produced three state championships, two runner-up and two third place finishes. In 16 years coaching track and field, Tennal coached 14 state champions in the pole vault, javelin and discus.
Both Kimbrook and Kim coached multiple sports during their careers at both the junior high and high school level.
"Most years I coached at least three teams and some years I coached six sports, seven if you count summer softball,'' Kimbrook said.
Kimbrook has faced his biggest challenge after being diagnosed several years ago with colon cancer, but remains active.
"The cancer's in remission,'' he said. "The chemotherapy gave me neuropathy in my feet and hands. My hands are a little better, but my feet feel like they're stone.
"It's real painful, but I can ride a bike and I ride a bike about 20 miles every day. I've missed three times in a year and eight months, so I'm exercising.''
These days the Tennals spend a lot of time following and supporting their grandchildren's sporting endeavors.
"We have the grandkids to go watch and I try to help them out when I can, so I still get to coach a little bit,'' Kimbrook said.
Kim is also very much involved in a variety of roles.
"Our granddaughters are 9 and 10 and 6, so we're getting into a lot more of going and watching, definitely,'' she said. "I do a lot of cooking. Our son Kenton runs some camps and every once in a while he'll need help, but I'm not actively out there coaching, I just do whatever I can. I keep pretty busy with the projects the kids want me to do.''
Retirement has also given the Tennals time to reflect on their long careers in education and particularly girls sports.
"We feel so very lucky to have become teachers after Title IX was passed,'' Kimbrook said. "Our lives would have been so different without having had the chance to coach girls sports. We have always believed in what the Kansas State High School Activities Association promotes - that the greatest predictor of success after high school is whether or not a student was involved in extracurricular activities during high school.
"Watching our grand kids play sports is really special for us now. We are so glad that Title IX has been around for 50 years. It gives our granddaughters so many great opportunities that they wouldn't have had. They are learning to work hard for some success, which is the most important lesson they will learn playing sports.''
We are grateful to partner with WIN for KC, an organization with the mission to empower the lives of girls and women by advocating and promoting the lifetime value of sports through opportunities for participation and leadership development. WIN for KC and the KSHSAA believe involvement in activities and sports lay the ground work for supporting well-rounded citizens in our communities and beyond. For more on WIN for KC visit: https://www.sportkc.org/win-for-kc