In the 1980s, Kelcey Ervick and her club soccer team, the Cardinals, didn’t think of themselves as part of history. The teenage girls knew they were good, of course—they dominated soccer tournaments across the United States. They were fierce competitors at a time when many girls in the U.S. faced a lack of athletic opportunities.  

At the time, the team didn’t understand the change they represented. But the Cardinals were part of something greater—the quiet but monumental ripple effects of Title IX that exploded girls’ participation in organized sports after its passage in 1972. Decades later, these experiences would become the foundation of Ervick’s graphic memoir The Keeper.  

This fall, Ervick visited the HRS Middle School. This visit was made possible by the Joan Beauregard Endowment for Discovery and Enrichment, which provides students with valuable learning opportunities outside of the classroom.   

During her visit to Middle School, she read from The Keeper, discussed her creative process, and celebrated how far female athletes have come since women first played soccer in 1881. She also reminded the audience how far there is to go.  

One moment in Ervick’s discussion particularly stood out to students. In 1987, Kelcey and the Cardinals made it to the U.S. Girls National Tournament. After several hard-fought games, the girls sat for post-game interviews. Instead of questions about their strategy or performance, reporters asked questions like: 

“Who will be the first girl on the team to get married?”  

“Who will be the first to have children?” 

“Who will have the most children?” 

When the HRS Middle School audience heard these questions, they responded with shock and disbelief. For students who have grown up with girls’ sports as a given, it was eye-opening to hear about such belittling treatment of female athletes in the not-so-distant past.  

Ervick connected with students as an athlete, an artist, and a writer, speaking to the different interests of many middle schoolers. She spoke about discovering as a young adult that she didn’t need to choose between being an athlete and being a creative person. When society wanted her to fit into a tidy box, she rejected the notion. Each pursuit informed the other: her creative thinking made her a better athlete, while the discipline she learned in sports strengthened her creative practice.  

As a young athlete, Ervick remembered practicing every day, whether she felt like it or not. So, when she faced the challenge of creating The Keeper, her first-ever graphic memoir, she knew exactly what she had to do. Every day, she put on her smock, got out her paints and paper, and created something, focusing on practice rather than perfection.  

Ervick’s visit proved both inspiring and educational, leaving the HRS audience considering how they could transform their own experiences into art or action. Her presentation motivated students to try new things, dream big, and keep fighting for equality - following the footsteps of countless change-makers before them.