Canton’s Hall of Fame coach Nancy Grace has passed away

Nancy, Grace, left, Cookie Bromage, center, and Terri Ziemnicki at the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance’s 2018 Gold Key induction banquet in Southington. Grace passed away on Wednesday.

CANTON, Oct. 2, 2024 – The leaves haven’t changed yet but the signs of fall are there with some leaves displaying a light shade of yellow.

Amidst the changing seasons, the Canton and Granby field hockey teams met for the second time this season Wednesday on the turf field in Canton. Earlier this season, the Bears blanked the Warriors, 2-0, but Canton had grown stronger, going 5-0-1 in their last six games.

It was a game that my friend Nancy Grace would have enjoyed watching. But she couldn’t.

The legendary Hall of Fame coach passed away earlier Wednesday.

It was a perfect place to remember a woman who changed so many lives as coach (field hockey, softball, golf) and science teacher.

Normally, I would be on the sideline snapping some photos and watching the athletes compete but I stood along the fence talking about Nancy and her legacy with others for most of the contest.

A child of Canton, she graduated from Canton High in 1976 where she played field hockey and softball. She went to Springfield College and played for legendary coach Dottie Zenaty. Once she got her teaching and coaching jobs in Canton, she never left.

In field hockey, she had tremendous success in 20 years as the head coach, winning 295 games, 11 league championships and eight Class S state championships from 1985 to 2004. Her teams played in the finals 11 times and she was finalist for the National High School Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year award in 2000.

In softball, she coached from 1990-99, leading the Warriors to seven NCCC championships and a Class S state title in 1991, the school’s first state title in the sport. She served as athletic director from 2005-10 and coached the girls golf team for a few seasons.

Even after she retired, she was the clock operator and scorekeeper in field hockey and would work as a timing official in track and field. Or just show up and watch and support the coaches and kids.

Our conversations over the years would frequently be at a Canton contest – most likely field hockey. Last October, I chatted with Nancy at a Canton field hockey game on the turf and she was wrapped up in a blanket.

It wasn’t that cold but I knew she had some health challenges lately. I didn’t ask and she didn’t offer any details. But there she, obviously uncomfortable, serving as the acting athletic director last fall with Kim Hirth on maternity leave after the birth of her first child.

The athletic director’s job isn’t a simple one – even on an interim basis. There are multiple events to juggle and arrange with a tremendous amount of little details to that need to be in place or suffer the wrath of an annoyed coach, official or parent, who could escalate complaints and cause additional headaches.

“I didn’t know her for that long but I feel I’ve known her for my entire life with how her personality was,” Hirth said. “I was talked with (former) coach Bill Phelps and he was saying how she never had any kids. The Canton community was her family. That is how she spent her time. She devoted herself with love to the Canton community.”

“Nancy’s impact on our students, both in the classroom and on the field, was immeasurable,” Canton Superintendent Jordan Grossman said. “Her dedication, passion and unwavering commitment to education and athletics touched countless lives, leaving a lasting legacy within our community.”

Terri Ziemnicki, the current field hockey coach at Avon, was on the fence watching the game. Ziemnicki and the Falcons had legendary battles in the North Central Connecticut Conference in the 1990s with Grace and the Warriors.

Canton and Avon met twice in the Class S championship game with Canton winning twice (1995, 1998). In three other years, Canton eliminated Avon from the state tournament including a semifinal victory in penalty strokes in 1991.

The two women became close friends, supporting each other through the years.

“She made me a better coach. I saw how she was to her players and I tried to emulate that,” Zieminicki said. “She taught me a lot about the game, what it is was like to coach. We were so intense at each other on the field but after the game, it was over

“They were great games, great (field) hockey and those were games you wanted to come and see when Avon was playing Canton,” she said. “She got the most out of her players and out of her team. You can’t say that about all coaches.”

Nancy was named one of Connecticut’s Top Coaches of the 20th Century by the Hartford Courant in 1999. She was inducted into the Connecticut High School Coaches Association (CHSCA) and the Connecticut Field Hockey Hall of Fame. She was in the first class of the Canton Wall of Fame in 2002 for successful contributions to her community and profession.

“She was proud to coach in Canton,” Ziemnicki said. “I think she loved her players as much as any coach can love their players. I think she was tough but in a way a coach is supposed to be. She was tough because she loved the players. She loved the game. She was an athlete. She was a great coach. She knew the game inside and out. She knew how to adjust to whoever she was playing.”

Nancy was never one to mince words. She wasn’t shy about expressing her opinions to game officials, her players of her friends.

“She kept me positive when I struggled,” Ziemnicki said. “She (provided) tough love for me and she was right. It was always exactly what I needed to hear and you loved her for it. She wasn’t saying it to be mean. She said it because she loved you, she cared about you and she respected you.”

Canton’s Valerie Naja (7) celebrates with her teammates after scoring a goal in Wednesday’s NCCC game with Granby on the turf field. The two teams battled to a 2-2 tie. (Photo courtesy Mike Orazzi / mikeorazzi.smugmug.com)

On Wednesday, Canton (6-1-2) and Granby (7-1-1) battled to a 2-2 tie thanks to Ava Reiter’s goal with 1:14 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Warriors scored with 3:18 left in regulation with Valerie Naja’s second goal of the game to take a 2-1 lead.

It’s a finish Nancy would have probably been annoyed with as a coach.

As a retired coach, she might have offered a suggestion if asked. That suggestion would have probably included a recommendation to get back to work with a colorful metaphor sprinkled into the sentence.

Never shy and always encouraging people to perform up to their potential.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced yet.