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Keep Pink and Carrie On!

Posted at 1:14 PM, Oct 23, 2015
and last updated 2015-10-23 13:34:06-04

CHESTERFIELD (WTVR) - All across the country, athletic teams from every level are putting some splash of pink into their uniforms during the month of October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Teams in Central Virginia have done the same, but the girls field hockey team at James River took it steps further, for a very good reason.

Thursday night was their final regular season game of the year, and with it, brought to a close one chapter in the career of outgoing head coach Slade Gormus, who is stepping down after 20 years with the Rapids, the last 15 as head coach. The team wore pink jerseys for their match with Monacan, and also raised money during their Pink Out game for the cause, which hits much closer to home for them.

When Gormus took over as head coach in 2000, Carrie Roarty came aboard as her assistant, but with one significant handicap.

"One of the things Carrie always said when she joined the program was 'I don't know anything about field hockey'" Gormus remembered Thursday night. "I said 'You just need to make them love it, and we'll teach them how to play.'"

Roarty and Gormus taught them well enough to win a state championship in 2002. Their run together came to an end when Roarty died from breast cancer in January of 2014, leaving a void within the team and the school that has not and likely cannot ever be filled. Almost two years later, Gormus still fights back tears when explaining the effect that Roarty's memory still holds on the team.

"What she meant to these girls and this program is something we can't even explain to people" Gormus said. "This team was very special to her. They were her chickadees and her babies so it was important that our last game, and my last game, be a tribute to her. I wanted to make sure that we honored her and that she was with us especially during my last game because I said I did not want to do this by myself."

While still painful, the memory of Roarty's loss serves as a real life example of how important breast cancer awareness is to everyone associated with the team and the school. Where some messages may be dismissed by youthful indifference, this one never fails to resonate.

"The biggest thing we've tried to stress to these girls is that this is a family" Gormus said. "And you take care of family, and everything that goes with it. Taking care of yourself. Being the best that you can be. They know that, forever in life, they will have a family at James River field hockey."

"We built a family that takes care of each other. We did that before we lost Carrie. When that happened, we all came together and were probably even more united."

Almost forgotten in the evening was that the Rapids won the game 1-0. Gormus was assisted by Carrie's son Riley, who now gets at least partial credit for a victory made more than partially possible by his mom's memory.