Before Chatham Glenwood High School was a state powerhouse and state champion in girls soccer, University of Illinois Springfield women’s soccer coach Molly Grisham played in 1990 for the school's inaugural team when the players wore hand-me-down uniforms from the junior varsity boys squad.
Grisham has witnessed the growth of the sport firsthand and wants to thank the individuals who were instrumental in the development of women's soccer in central Illinois over the past 25 years.
UIS will honor those pioneers at halftime of the Prairie Stars’ Oct. 2 game against Lewis at Kiwanis Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Local restaurant AZ-T-CA Mexican Grill is sponsoring the event.
Grisham and an advisory board have selected about 16 pioneers to honor, including former Springfield High coach Bob Wharton and former Sacred Heart-Griffin coach Oscar Lambdin. Wharton coached Springfield for 21 seasons beginning with the program’s inception in 1989. Lambdin’s 1995 SHG team was the first Central State Eight Conference program to make an appearance in the girls state tournament.
UIS is still accepting nominations at mgris01s@uis.edu.
The story was reported by The State Journal-Register on September 23, 2015.
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