One of One: A Children’s Book About Lacrosse

David Vick — August 11, 2024

Rachel Mullooly, a former All-American lacrosse player at the University of New Haven, is now an influencer of future generations.

The soon-to-be mom has the all-important job of teaching at Griebling Elementary School in her native New Jersey.

As a teacher of 10 years – first kindergarten and now the second grade – she has interacted with more children’s books than most ever will. So, it is only fitting that she wanted to write one herself.

“It’s been a dream of mine for probably the last 10 years,” she said.

Rachel just needed a little push to do it.

And that push came in the spring of 2023 when she attended a professional development session that focused on – you guessed it – children’s books. She then made the decision she had wanted to for so long.

“I’m doing it. This is it. This is my sign,” Rachel thought to herself.

Her first step was to write a manuscript. In doing so, Rachel found inspiration in her lacrosse journey.

“Essentially, my own personal experience drove this plot, so all kids see you can try something new. And if you practice at it, you’ll get better,” she said.

Rachel’s lacrosse story began when she was in eighth grade. She attended a camp at Monmouth University, where she fell in love with the sport.

Because she picked up a stick for the first time later than most, she had to practice a lot to improve her skills during her high school years. And she did.

Rachel made the varsity team as a sophomore, something that was relatively unheard of at the school she attended.

One of the many important decisions Rachel had to make in writing the book was naming the main character. She landed on ‘Rosie.’ 

“I just wanted a cute name, and I wanted a redhead because I’m a redhead,” she said with a smile. “It’s a perfect name for her and the character.” 

With the main character’s name chosen and the manuscript finished, the next step was sharing it with others to get opinions. Rachel showed it to a few friends and her fiancé, who all shared positive feedback.

This led to the next step in the book’s creation: finding an illustrator. 

After going through many different illustrations to find the exact style she envisioned for the book, Rachel chose Madison Ferdman, who did an initial sketch in the fall of 2023.

Rachel, a lacrosse coach for the last 10 years, and Madison then worked together to ensure the lacrosse details were exact. This included the shape of the crease, goals and lacrosse sticks.

“We went back and forth because I really wanted to make it look like lacrosse,” Rachel said.

Once the illustrations were finalized, Rachel read the story to her class of second graders. At that point, the book was still in black and white, but she wanted to get feedback from the age group that would be reading the story.

Understandably a little nervous, Rachel did not tell the students that she was the author. Instead, she told them a friend of hers wrote the story.

Don’t worry – she eventually told them who the author actually was.

Her students loved the book. And it is a good thing they did because the next step in the book’s journey was perhaps the most important one: publishing.

“A New Sport: Rosie’s Lacrosse Story” was finished in early 2024. And it was available for preorder at the end of January – just in time for lacrosse season.

The book was officially published on April 2, and Rachel finally achieved what she had wanted to for so long.

“It was a surreal day,” Rachel simply said.

This milestone moment culminated a yearlong journey that began with her writing the manuscript. During those 12 months, Rachel faced many challenges.

She dealt with the frustration of misprints, the financial costs associated with being a self-published author and the vulnerability that comes with publishing a book.

“It was a little complicated being a self-publisher, but I’m really happy with it. The book is awesome,” she said.

So far, the book has sold more than 300 copies. But more importantly, Rachel accomplished her desired result.

“All I wanted to do was share my love for lacrosse with my students.”

_{The book is available for purchase online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, and Walmart.}