BOOK SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON CHS FEMALE ATHLETES
Ralls to host Celebration of Voices Through Sport event
Kathleen Ralls is turning the pages on a half decade worth of memories, telling tales from the Chelmsford High female athlete’s perspective.
The author’s latest book, “Voices of Title IX: Chelmsford High Girl Athletes and the Women They Became,” chronicles data collected from 150 athletes from the last 50 years, sharing their stories of triumph, resilience and empowerment.
The project was a labor of love for Ralls, a 1996 Chelmsford High grad and Lions Hall of Famer.
“I think what’s most surprising was how the women truly reflected on this experience and how it impacts them today,” said Ralls. “Many are very healthy because they had a good start. Others learned to be consistent, take feedback and become good teammates. Now they’re role models for their children because they got the chance to practice being a captain and a leader.”
To commemorate the book’s release, Ralls, along with her former coach, Maura Devaney Duah-asamoah, will host a Celebration of Voices Through Sport on Thursday, April 4, at The Establishment in North Chelmsford at 6 p.m. The evening will spotlight the impact and experiences of Chelmsford High School girl athletes, transcending the boundaries of sport. The event is sold out.
All the women featured in the book are invited to the event, as well as the coaches, administration and teachers, cited for their influence. Ralls hopes it will reconnect familiar faces, sharing laughter and reminiscing about the moments that have shaped them and their careers.
“It’s nice to be able to remember all the people who played a part and contributed to our experience as high school athletes,” said Ralls, 46. “We’ll have five speakers, all CHS alums.”
The event will also launch a scholarship drive in collaboration with the Chelmsford
High School Alumni Association. The scholarship will support the dreams of young athletes, making a direct impact on their journey.
An author, speaker, coach and educator, Ralls certainly knows her way around Chelmsford High. She was a three-sport athlete in field hockey, basketball and softball before graduating in 1996.
“I was just a very quiet and shy kid,” said Ralls. “On the field was where I was most comfortable, the place where I was most accepted by my teammates and most importantly, I could really be myself. There were vocal leaders, but I was a quiet leader. It was a place that I drew the most confidence from.”
The University of Massachusetts grad (’00) served as a Fulbright Roving Scholar of American Studies from 2013-14 travelling to Norway, sharing her knowledge of U.S. culture. She conducted research on four continents, focusing on the constructs of sport, gender and voice empowerment.
Finishing off her Doctor of Education degree at Umass Lowell in 2020, Ralls was back on the move. She headed to Ethiopia working with girl runners, making connections between sports and empowerment when the pandemic hit.
“So, I took the same research questions, created a survey and sent it out via social media,” she said.
The response from her alma mater was overwhelming, with 150 female athletes responding.
“It was amazing,” said Ralls. “It was a quantitative survey. They shared their sports history, both individually and as a team, but more importantly they talked about the lessons they learned, traditions, experiences and how those experiences as a girls athlete at Chelmsford High positively impacted their adult lives, personally and professionally.”
After briefly putting the project on hold to release her first book, Ralls quickly pulled her second book together over the
past year. She initially planned a low-key release, but Duah-asamoah had other ideas.
“I’m an introvert by nature and I thought I’d just
put the book on Amazon and tell some friends,” said Ralls. “That’s when Maura said we were going to make this an event. Let’s make this for a girls athlete scholarship. So that’s our goal, to use the book and event to establish a scholarship at Chelmsford High.”
Serving as the founder and executive director of Kathleen Ralls LLC, she continues to work to empower other professional females to lead with their unique voices. Ralls feels this book captures the essence of the remarkable journeys of women athletes who competed at
CHS, exploring the impact of athleticism beyond the scoreboard.
“It’s all those things we already know about sports, but to put it in the context of your own school and the people that you know is pretty cool,” said Ralls. “And to see the traditions and
trends across all five decades, even in the early years when the track and soccer teams were just starting in the ’70s and ’80s. That was really cool to see.”
For more information on the book and the event, email Chstitleix@gmail.com.