NORTHFIELD – Emily Miller remembers learning about Title IX during history class, probably sometime in junior high. She’s a little fuzzy on the details, including how and why it came about.

Every time she steps on the soccer field, though, she feels its effect.

At 16, Miller can’t even imagine who she’d be without the game. She’s played since kindergarten, and credits soccer for her independence and self-confidence. Now a starter on the varsity team at New Trier High School in suburban Chicago, she’s proud when someone describes her as “the athlete” or “the soccer player.”