Our Kumbaya Moment with Kat Rogers
12/21/2022 10:34:00 AM | Soccer
It was a mid-November day in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in the fall of 2020.
It was freezing outside.
I'm from Texas – I don't do well in the cold. But I had bigger problems than the weather.
Our Covid-shortened soccer season at Alabama didn't go as planned.
We had the talent, but it didn't translate to wins.
We lacked chemistry and camaraderie.
We weren't playing as a team.
We just lost in the SEC Tournament in the first round to end our season, and Coach Wes (Hart) sent us all a text to meet him on the field.
One way or another, we were going to get together to hash things out and come up with solutions to fix whatever was broken with this team.
It was uncomfortable, intense and confrontational to say the least.
Just picture 20+ college girls sitting in a circle displaying every emotion possible and airing out all the grievances of the past season.
Tears were shed.
All the frustration that had been built up from that 2020 season was let loose on the field on this memorable and frigid November day.
And it turned out to be one of the best moments that's ever happened to my teammates and me.
Today, I call this 'our Kumbaya moment.'
Building a foundation
I started thinking seriously about college soccer around my freshman year of high school. I was playing at a high level, and I knew if I continued to work hard, I'd be in a position to have some big-time Division I schools recruit me.
More than anything, I wanted to be a part of a school that was building its team from the ground up. Good teams come and go, but teams that change and transform a program?
That's called leaving a legacy.
I got to experience that first-hand on my high school team. When I arrived as a freshman, we had never won a playoff game in our team's history.
By the time I graduated, we were ranked third in the state of Texas.
To be an integral part of that immense progression was a fulfillment I can't describe. It was the best feeling in the world.
So when I got the call from Coach Wes, and he made his pitch for me to come to Alabama to change the culture and take it to heights it's never been, I couldn't say no.
Even though Tuscaloosa is a nine-hour drive away from my friends and family in the Dallas area where I'm from, I knew Alabama was where I was destined to be.
I was ecstatic to be a part of a core group of girls that were going to change the future of Crimson Tide soccer.
Coming together through adversity
When I arrived at Alabama in 2018, we had our work cut out for us. It was going to take a tremendous amount of dedication, focus and sacrifice to take this team in a positive direction.
We only won two conference games during my freshman year in 2018. We took a step forward in the 2019 season, only to hit rock bottom during the 2020 season that led to the now-famous kumbaya session after the fall season ended with our dreadful record.
Things were at such a low point, in fact, that once the spring season started in 2021 – since the 2020-21 season was split into two because of Covid – we only had 13 healthy players due to an abundance of injuries.
I'll let you do the math on that one.
But even though we were heavily injured and outnumbered, we finally began to play as a team during the spring of 2021.
We started to get to know each other better.
To trust one another.
For the first time, I looked around at the locker room and saw a bunch of girls that were willing to lay it all out on the field for each other.
Our time was coming.
Not an overnight success
And this past 2022 season, everything clicked.
I've never been a part of a team that was so close and had a bond this strong.
It was truly a dream season, as we finished 23-3-1 and set records for goals, assists, wins, shutouts and more.
We made it all the way to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament — also a first in Alabama soccer history — before losing to UCLA.
When I think about this past season, I can't help but look back at all the moments that led us here.
Changing a culture.
Making adjustments to our game.
Embodying the definition of the word selfless when it comes to being a student-athlete, both on and off the field.
Trust me, getting 30 strong-willed girls to all buy in to the same goals and objectives of taking this program to the next level takes time. It doesn't happen overnight.
But we did it.
And there's not a sweeter taste than enjoying the fruits of your labor.
A lasting and harmonious legacy
After playing five seasons, I couldn't have written a better script for how I was able to finish my soccer career. After years of blood, sweat and tears, I was part of a team that came together in 2022 to accomplish something bigger than ourselves.
We changed a program and left behind a legacy that will never be forgotten.
The best team in the history of Alabama women's soccer.
There are so many different places in time that led to this historic season, but I'll always go back to that brisk November day in 2020 as a turning point that changed the future of the team.
While uncomfortable, this session was exactly what we needed to move forward and create trust and accountability with one another.
From that day forward, we started playing as a team – for each other instead of ourselves – and we never looked back.
If there's anything that's more fulfilling than building a program up to monumental heights, it's passing the torch and relying on the next generation to continue that success.
I may be graduating and going back home to Texas, but I'll always roll with the Crimson Tide.
And make no mistake, they'll definitely get to see my face in the crowd for years to come, too.
