Leander Independent School District is making a little bit of history with the district's first female athletics director.
Jody Hormann joined LISD in 2008 as a volleyball and girls' basketball coach at Leander High School and a few years later became the assistant athletic director.
Her love and respect for the world of sports is what kept her in the game for more than a decade.
“I went to a small school, a 2A school, where you played everything,” Hormann said.
From track to the basketball court, the thirst to compete was always there.
“I was like, 'I'm going to be a teacher and coach, end of story,' there were no other avenues I ever even explored,” she said.
When it was announced she would take on the new position, she said one word came to mind—grateful.
Superintendent Dan Troxell says, "Jody is a proven and dynamic leader who brings strong leaderships skills with a diverse athletic background."
The position isn’t short of challenges, but it’s something Hormann has prepared for.
“It's a little intimidating, but exciting at the same time,” Hormann said.
For many, this is huge stride on the high school level as well as in the sports world where many women are not equally represented.
According to the NCAA, out of the more than 300 college athletic directors in division one in the 2015 and 2016 school year, only 37 are female. When you include the 65 universities in the big five conferences, there are only three schools who have female athletic directors on board.
As for Hormann, she has high hopes those numbers won't be an issue for long.
“We just had our Texas High School Athletic Directors Association Conference, and I have been attending that for five years. And just over the course of those five years its been really fun and exciting to see the number of women attending that conference,” she said. “I remember the first year I went there was very few, but this year to look out and see the number of women increasing.”
The male dominated industry is trying to make changes, the NFL hired its first female official, and the NBA commissioner announced this week they're looking for a woman head coach.
All steps to push a more diverse group.
“That's obviously important for our young females need to see,” Hormann said.