Unsung Heroine

This weekend I worked on writing the description for the Nancy Williams Girl Athlete Scholarship, which will be awarded at my high school in Massachusetts starting in 2025.

Nancy is a retired physical education teacher and basketball coach who began her career right at the cusp of Title IX. My memories of Nancy, or Ms. Williams, are vivid. She was the lone female PE teacher at my high school in the 1990s and was the driving force behind our youth basketball program. She was quiet but steadfast. She reached out to all students, not just the athletes.

She selected me to represent my school at the National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration in Boston, which was a tremendous honor for me as a talented but quiet athlete who often felt overlooked by more vocal leaders. But Nancy recognized my value.

Leaders who talk loudly, first, and often are highly valuable and needed, but as organizational psychologist Adam Grant extolls, that confidence is sometimes confused with competence. There is a lot of intelligence missed when we don't give quieter leaders space to feel out the group and decide whether speaking up is worth it. Because sometimes, it isn't. There's value in observation and picking your points.

During our Celebration of Voices event in April, friends and colleagues spoke of Nancy being a key figure in the development of many girls athletic programs, advising administrators and fellow coaches in times of crisis. As a student, I was completely unaware of these conversations, but I benefitted greatly from them.

Today, I'm even more grateful of Nancy's ability to read those of us in the back and keep us in the loop. It speaks to her talents as a teacher and to her talents as a human.

In My Research

"This research was inspired by my experiences as a white, educated, Western woman athlete and coach. Attending US public schools, I competed with my classmates to earn a spot on the top field hockey, basketball, and softball teams. I reached some secondary school athletic goals, but I struggled with empowering my voice in school and in sport. For example, in the classroom I did not raise my hand unless I was sure I had the correct answer for fear of looking foolish. I was also a quiet member of my sport teams, following in line behind older, vocal leaders, even if I did not agree with them. I did, however, self-identify as a leader when my teammates elected me as captain of several sport programs. I had acquired a small platform from which I was expected to use my voice. The opportunity to lead my teammates gave me, in turn, confidence to raise my hand more often in class.

This current research is rooted in the belief that had I not participated in sport, the opportunity to empower my voice would have come much later, if at all. I wanted to find out if other girl athletes felt empowered to use their voices." - Ralls, K. Girl athletes in Ethiopia finding voice empowerment through sport. Girlhood Studies, 15(2), 124-143.

Take Her Word for It | Voices of Title IX

"Decades of research demonstrates that participation in sports can lead to greater academic and professional success. An Ernst & Young study identified one background trait that 94 percent of C-suite women leaders all have, and that is an involvement in sports. As many CHS graduates explained, being recognized as a leader of their sports program was a valuable training ground to governing successful families and work teams as adults.

Being a leader does not mean, however, that you have all the answers. Sometimes it requires pausing and listening to your teammates, and sometimes you must make a decision and trust your gut. Either way, you need to find a way to get all team members to believe in the mission and to work together to reach

your potential."

Women's Sports History

Basketball great Rebecca Lobo was a few years older than me, enough where she could be a young role model as a fellow Massachusetts girl athlete. If you've never been to Southwick High School, then you've never had the experience of driving down Rebecca Lobo Way, which honors the NCAA and Olympic champion who cut her chops in Western Mass. before playing for Geno Auriemma at UConn.

Lobo frequently does color for the WNBA and NCAA women's college basketball TV broadcasts. I was listening to her this weekend as she offered perspective and some grace on the growth of Caitlin Clark's professional career. Competing in the WNBA in its inaugural season, I would wager to say that Lobo knows a few things about basketball.

Which is why it's sad that she still gets lectured by men - or anybody - about the sport. Lobo recently shared that while she was coaching her son's AAU basketball game an official told her that basketball wasn't a women's game, but a "grown man's game." This observation was shared after she argued a call. I would bet a lot of money that Lobo has argued plenty of calls in all the years that she has been coaching her children. But this one is different.

Apparently this official watches zero women's basketball, or maybe he does and took advantage of the moment to get in a cheap shot. If I'm being petty for a moment, I'd love to see how his basketball stats and pedigree match up with Lobo's.

In no small part, this moment speaks to the importance of the Nancy Williams in our schools and coaching systems who remain steadfast in their belief that girls - and women - must continue to fight to play - and coach - sports.

At KR LLC, we believe women athletes are perfectly positioned to be standout leaders.

And if you want to relive a little bit of your glory years, we’re here for that as well!