On April 27, the Alabama softball team started practice as if it was any other day. Severe weather was forecasted to hit Tuscaloosa, but the sun was shining.

The softball team’s game that night had been cancelled due to the impending weather so the Tide decided to practice in preparation for its home series against Kentucky that weekend.

With bad weather threatening, Courtney Conley said coach Patrick Murphy had a plan in place.

“Murphy said if the sirens go off just go on into the clubhouse and get by the showers, we’d be fine there,” Conley said. “So we heard them and we all ran inside and about twenty minutes later we were all just sitting there like ‘man, what’s going on?’ We wanted to practice.”

But, a text from Murphy changed everything. Warned of the danger the storm was bringing, Murphy decided the team would be safer at Coleman Coliseum. With a 10 to 15 minute window, the team rushed over to Coleman and went to the gymnastics locker room.

“It kind of hit us that, this is going to be bad because we were watching it on TV,” Conley said. “Then all of a sudden the power cut out, and we all started to get really scared. The generators turned on, and we were sitting there watching it hit our city.

“We felt safe, but it was still scary that it was really close to us. It was a street away from us the whole time. The baseball team was at their field which is right by the coliseum, and they said they saw trees floating over the coliseum.”

As the only event happening on campus that weekend, the Kentucky series was cancelled and Murphy sent his players home.

“I told them the scenario and I went around the circle and wanted their opinion on whether we should play or not,” Murphy said. “Nobody thought that we could or should play.”

Courtney was happy to be home, but the images from the past couple days had not left her. She decided she wanted to do something for Tuscaloosa.

“It was heartbreaking to see people so hurt,” she said. “I was thinking about the people, not really the destruction, because that can all be fixed. I was thinking of people’s faces that I saw walking down the street.”

When Conley first arrived in St. Louis, a news crew was waiting at the airport to greet her. After deciding to collect supplies at her high school, Conley contacted the news station to give the event more publicity.

“With the news there I kind of figured there was going to be a lot of people,” Courtney said. “One of my dad’s buddies is a truck driver, and he donated his time to drive his truck to bring all the stuff down that everybody brought.”

Initially, Conley Facebook messaged a few friends, offering to take anything they wanted to donate back to Tuscaloosa. But soon, a few friends became an entire community.

“One of my teachers from high school messaged me and said I can help you out a little bit,” she said. “From there, I kept getting messages and more messages.

Murphy was impressed with Courtney’s effort.

“What she did was incredible for one person,” he said.

What started as one car of supplies evolved into an 18-wheeler full of donations and $5,000.

“That day was a miracle to me,” she said. “I didn’t feel like I did anything. It made me realize people really do care.”

Once back in Tuscaloosa, Courtney and some of her teammates took the supplies to a makeshift shelter in Northport.

“It was cool just to see everybody in there,” she said. “They saw how much stuff we had, and they were really surprised and very thankful. It was definitely a cool experience to have my team help me and drop everything off.”

Volunteering wasn’t new to Courtney, who had spent time at the Tuscaloosa Salvation Army and RISE school, but this time was different.

“I think, bringing the stuff back is what really lifted them up,” she said. “They saw how much people cared, and that’s what mattered to them. A house can be rebuilt, but seeing their faces light up is what was awesome about it.”

On May 6, the softball team took the field for the first time since the tornado. Murphy said the team matured in the days following the tornado, and that maturity carries over one year later.

“I think some kids matured in a hurry. We definitely saw some things that were eye-opening. I think it causes you to take a step back and see how lucky you are and do things for people who aren’t so lucky. We have several pieces of memorabilia from last year.”

Although the “T-town Never Down” houndstooth ribbon has been removed from its jerseys, a blanket with the ribbon embroidered on it hangs in the team’s locker room.

“It’s a constant reminder,” Murphy said. “I know when I walk by I remember.”

Conley said the experiences from a year ago are lasting reminders to the team that they too, are never down.

“We wanted the town to know we were a hope for them,” Conley said. “Now, if we’re down in the seventh inning, we know there is always hope. We’re never down.”