At the end of each Future Coaches Camp each June, a small ritual takes place. The girls, soon heading to their homes around Michigan, get in a circle with their camp teachers. The circle offers everyone an opportunity to pass on what they have learned at the camp and to recognize what they admire about their fellow campers and anyone else from the camp, including teachers that they wish to have a shout out about.

This year, as in all other years since TASL's founding, one of the Future Coaches Camp teachers, Joan Cowdery, was in the circle. As Joan was one of the last to talk, there was no chance for anyone else to do a shout out for her on the valuable role she has played in helping young women have the confidence to coach.

So, here is our chance. The more relevant question is: what hasn't Joan done for TASL? Because she has done almost everything asked of her and then some, we'll mention just a few of her contributions over the years.

First, she is an accomplished organizer. She is the person who gets the faculty and activities we need for our camp. Not only is she a details person. Joan has a broad understanding of our mission. She ensures that some of the half-baked plans we have enthused about over the years, are grounded in reality. Finally, Joan could easily have made a career on Comedy Central. She is that funny, and her hilarious stories remind us that first and foremost, sport is play, and that sport leadership is mostly about teaching others to have fun.

At the same time, Joan has a serious streak. And it is clear that increasing opportunities for young women in sport is a serious matter to her.