Gators head coach Becky Burleigh, in her 23rd season, has Florida one win away from the College Cup. (File photo)
Ron & Nancy Would Be Proud of Gators' Run
Thursday, November 23, 2017 | Soccer, Scott Carter
The UF soccer team has rallied around head coach Becky Burleigh during her difficult year and is a win away from the College Cup.
Ron and Nancy Burleigh are almost as closely tied to the UF soccer program as their daughter, Gators head coach Becky Burleigh, who is in her 23rd season and the only coach in the team's history. If the Gators had a game, Ron and Nancy – honored by the R & N patch on Florida's uniforms this season – were usually there.
They were the "first couple" of Gators soccer and their daughter's biggest cheerleaders. That's why this season has been one of the most difficult and challenging and exhilarating and rewarding of Becky's career.
The Gators (17-6) play at South Carolina (18-2-1) on Friday night in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, the winner advancing to the College Cup (soccer's Final Four). Florida is vying for its first trip to the national semifinals since 2001.
My 1st game without these 2. The team surprised me with a R+N patch on our jerseys as a dedication to them. #Humbled pic.twitter.com/HeE8efwfFe
— Becky Burleigh (@BeckyBurleigh) August 20, 2017
Ron and Nancy undoubtedly would be proud of what the Gators have accomplished this season. They would have been at Sunday's Sweet 16 win over Washington State at Dizney Stadium, Nancy's motorized chair parked in a perfect spot to watch the game and Ron sitting or standing nearby.
They loved the Gators. They relished the opportunity to watch their daughter do what she loves to do. They hung out with other fans and got to know the players and their families.
That is why their absence is so palpable. Ronald Bruce Burleigh and his bride of 60 years, Nancy Rose Burleigh, died in a span of four months earlier this year. They are gone but definitely not forgotten by the little girl they adopted Jan. 5, 1968 – less than three months after she was born – and took home to raise in their Massachusetts farmhouse and then in Florida when the family moved when Becky was 10. The couple also had two adopted sons.
Ron, 79, passed away at home shortly after a hospital stay in February. Meanwhile, Nancy, who had suffered from multiple sclerosis for most of her adult life, died in June at the age of 79. The loss of both parents in such a short time took its toll on Becky, known for her fun-loving and quirky approach to life and coaching.
Following a spring and summer of personal loss, Burleigh greeted the start of a new season with a huge hug.
"Getting back to normalcy, which soccer for me feels normal, that was actually a really positive thing for me," Burleigh said. "It kind of helped ground me a little bit more, just made me feel like it was everyday life again. The team really helped me in a lot of ways with that."
The players surprised Burleigh at the start of the season with the R & N patches in memory of her parents. They knew their coach was hurting and needed a lift.
When the Gators gathered for practice each day, they tried to rally around Burleigh and take her mind off the death of Ron and Nancy.
"We were there for her. We knew soccer was her getaway,'' defender Rachelle Smith said. "She never asked for anything. We just wanted to play our best for her and make this year for her and her family."
The Gators opened the season hot, knocking off then-No. 1 Stanford, winning seven of their first eight games, and rising to No. 2 in the national polls. Peaks and valleys followed, but since the postseason started, the Gators have done whatever necessary to string together wins over South Alabama, USF and Washington State to advance.
Burleigh has always been one to use motivational tactics to inspire her teams, and considering her personal struggles of the past year, chose Andra Day's inspirational song "Rise Up" as a rallying cry. The team is wearing T-shirts printed with the slogan as a reminder of their ultimate goal: to win the program's first national title since 1998.
"With Becky's parents passing away this past year, we wanted to be there for her and I think the Rise Up thing just goes along with playing for her parents,'' redshirt senior midfielder Gabby Seiler said. "Becky has been there for us since day one, and she would do absolutely anything for any of us, so we want to be able to do that for her.
"This one is for her, this is for her parents."
Freshman sensation Deanne Rose, who scored the game-winner in double overtime against Washington State, arrived too late to play in front of Ron and Nancy over the years like so many of her teammates.
She may be a newcomer, but Rose can sense what they meant to the program from the way the team has rallied around Burleigh.
"She is really good at using her pain, per se, to motivate us,'' Rose said. "I think that's really helped us in this tournament. She is able to be so strong for us and so we are able to be strong for her. We are playing for something bigger than ourselves. We're all just aligned to the same goal."
To win the ultimate prize, the Gators must get past the Gamecocks in a rematch from last month, won 1-0 by South Carolina. Florida has faced injuries, has had a match cancelled because of Hurricane Irma and one moved due to the Richard Spencer appearance at UF, and kept on winning.
The Gators need one more for the opportunity to play in the College Cup at Orlando City Stadium starting Dec. 1.
"It's absolutely perfect. It's exactly what we want,'' Burleigh said of another shot at the Gamecocks, their Southeastern Conference rivals. "We just continue to grow in different ways. That, to me, is the most exciting part of it. I don't think we're done yet. It really is amazing to watch."
You know Ron and Nancy are watching. They lived for moments like these.
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