Ceremonies to dedicate Nancy Grace Stadium, deSimas Field set for Oct. 24

The turf field complex will be called Nancy Grace Memorial Stadium. Dedication ceremonies are set for Oct. 24.

Ceremonies to dedicate two athletic fields at Canton High are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24 beginning at 2:30 p.m., according to school officials.

The main stadium at Canton High will be named the Nancy Grace Memorial Stadium in recognition to Grace’s outstanding contributions to the Canton school community as a teacher, athletic director and legendary field hockey and softball coach.

The upper grass field behind Nancy Grace Stadium will be named deSimas Field in honor of Catherine T. deSimas, who served on the Canton Board of Education for 26 years from 1973-99.

The turf field inside Nancy Grace Stadium will be recognized as Legends Field, honoring legendary coaches who have served in the Canton athletic program throughout the years.

Following the dedication ceremonies, the Canton field hockey team will host long-time rival Avon beginning at 3:30 p.m.

Canton’s Nancy Grace (2004 photo)

Grace passed away in October 2024 at the age of 65. She was part of the Canton school system for decades.

In field hockey, she had tremendous success in 20 years as the head coach, winning 295 games, 11 league titles 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.

Legends Field will allow the community to recommend past and current Canton High School head coaches to be honored and recognized for their dedication and skill.

Nominations will be reviewed by a committee on following key criteria: coaching legacy, student and community impact, professional conduct, lasting influence and cultural contribution.

Coaches selected to be honored will have their names placed on a plaque located at Legends Field to honor the dedication, leadership, and mentorship that generations of coaches have provided to student-athletes throughout the school’s history.

The practice field behind the turf field at Canton High will be renamed deSimas Field on Oct. 24. This photo is from 2016 when the Canton High football team was practicing on the field.

In 1999, the school dedicated a practice field to Catherine deSimas upon her retirement from Board of Education. But that field was torn up in 2013 when the turf field was built and the parking lot was reconfigured.

The newly-named deSimas Field was the home of the football program beginning in 2007 until the turf field was completed in 2013. In the 1980s and 1990s, the field was the home field for Canton’s varsity field hockey program.

Canton’s Board of Selectmen approved official names for three key athletic facilities on the Canton High and Canton Middle School campus in the fall of 2025,

Editor’s note: Yes. Cathy deSimas is the mother of the author, who was one of five children that Cathy and her late husband, Gerry, raised in Collinsville.