Talking with men’s golf head coach Billy Pate about the tornadoes that came through Tuscaloosa last year, one doesn’t have to hear his story to understand the grief.
With his face staring off into nothing, one could almost make out the reflection of the tornado in his eyes, and it was clear the losses and emotions were still with him and his team, one year later.
Around this time last year, the Crimson Tide men’s tennis team was finishing up a fairly disappointing season. They had just lost in the SEC tournament, and their season had come to a close. With the team not making the NCAA tournament and many members of the team hanging their heads, it seemed like that was the only problem that mattered.
“We had just lost in the SEC, and our season was pretty much over,” Pate said.
Then came April 27.
“When the tornado came through a week later, all of a sudden, you didn’t remember the season,” Pate said. “It really put things into priority.”
“The team took a complete 180 degrees on their view on their season,” Pate said. “We were really dejected about the season because we had had so much potential, and we didn’t show it on the court. But then all of a sudden, the season wasn’t important anymore. No one cared that we hadn’t had the greatest season in the world.”
The day after the storm, Pate was not so much worried about himself, but about his players. On that day, he didn’t just have the concerns of a tennis coach, but of a parent. He wanted to make sure his kids were safe.
With most cell phone services down, Pate said he had to send text messages to his players multiple times to make sure the messages got through.
“I was trying desperately to get a hold of those guys,” Pate said. “I would have to send a text five or ten times for it to even go through.”
Pate said eventually he got in contact with one of his players who told him that no one was hurt.
“Thank God they were all safe,” Pate said.
The team’s journey through that hard time did not end there. After the storms passed through, they immediately got to work with helping the people who had so tragically been affected by such a catastrophic event.
“Michael Thompson and a few of the other guys went out to go gather debris from the storm,” Ricky Doverspike said. “I went back to my home town and had a fundraiser at the country club I belong to.”
This season has been one of up’s and down’s for the men’s tennis team. However, the lessons learned from the tornadoes last year had less to do about tennis and more to do about life.
“Some of the most important things in life don’t have to do with winning and losing,” Michael Thompson said. “We have learned to appreciate what’s given to us and not take anything for granted.”
