Leona Lafaele Connects Cross-Country Families on Senior Day
4/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Until it was time for her to move into the freshmen dorm to start her first semester of college, Leona Lafaele had never stepped foot in the state of Alabama.
"When I was a freshmen, my fall was really tough," Lafaele said. "I was all the way across the country away from my family, and I didn't know any of the girls."
A native of Sacramento, Calif., Leona Lafaele grew up in a Samoan community around her extended family. Prior to starting class at the Capstone, she had never traveled farther east than the state of Colorado. In fact, she didn't even go through the traditional recruiting process.
"I thought I was almost done with my career because going into my senior year I wasn't signed to go anywhere," Lafaele said. "In the softball world, that's pretty late if you want to play in college. I had one good tournament in Colorado and within one week, I had major offers come to me.
"Coach [Pat] Murphy and Coach Aly [Habetz] were at that tournament. We set up a meeting and they were genuinely happy when trying to recruit me. I felt like they really cared about me as a person. I remember thinking that if they were like that, then the team must be like that too. Within a week, I committed to play at Alabama."
Even though she is so far away from home, her family has supported her decision to move across the country to be a student-athlete. To add, being of Samoan descent, it is not common for many young girls in the community to think of college or playing sports at the Division 1 level as a possibility.
"I am really proud of being Samoan and playing the sport at such a high level," Lafaele said. "From softball, I met people from all over the country and the world. I've been able to travel and have new experiences. I want the Samoan girls to know that they can make it if they pursue their own dreams. It's possible. If it can happen to me, it can happen to them."
Since many family members and friends haven't had the chance to see her play in person, she hopes that her dedication is not only made known back home, but to all of the young girls around the country that look up to her.
This weekend, Lafaele will have the chance to welcome her family to Rhoads Stadium during the weekend series. Many of them have never seen her play in a Crimson Tide uniform and Lafaele is excited that her family has the opportunity to finally meet and interact with her Alabama Softball family. Her own family reunion is a small part of a much larger reunion of past and present players and families this season, the program's 20th anniversary season.
"This team gets to represent everything that Alabama softball has ever stood for," Lafaele said. "I am so honored to be a part of a team that represents so many years of great accomplishments and great teams."
As Lafaele talks about how much the team, her family and heritage mean to her, she was grinning with excitement.
"I really do thank God because I didn't take visits, didn't watch softball very much outside of playing in games and I didn't go to camps," Lafaele said. "I just played and let the chips fall where they fell. It ended up working out."
Leona Lafaele will be celebrating her senior day this Saturday, April 9 at Rhoads Stadium.
