On November 17, 1973, the world changed and a legend was born. A band of girls from tiny Granby High School won Connecticut’s first-ever state field hockey tournament They beat Guilford High School scoring the winning goal in the second sudden death overtime. This is a journey through a life of highs and lows. A regular season of sticks and obstructions. Games against long-time rivals and emerging powerhouse teams. The joy and pain of a single elimination tournament.
Author Robert Penfield develops the theme of his book A Life of Obstructions through chronicling the 1973 girls field hockey season in Eastern Connecticut. Hired as only second sports editor of the Farmington Valley Newspaper and the sports reporter enabled the author to know the growth of girl’s field hockey over the previous three years. In 1973 girl’s field hockey witnessed an explosion of teams across the state of Connecticut. The pending and eventual passing of Title IX Act that prohibited sex based discrimination in any organization receiving federal funding help fuel the growth of women sports across the country.