Sophomore defender Abby Gemma scans the collection of emails from former Gators to the current team providing a different perspective.
Words of Wisdom From UF Soccer Generations Past
Thursday, September 25, 2025 | Soccer, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – As July meetings go, it probably seemed fairly routine, as Florida's soccer team filed into their locker room for an early preseason gathering. Like the meetings before, Coach Samantha Bohon stood before her players with a pre-practice message, only this time she was merely the conduit.
After a brief explanation, Bohon took out a piece of paper and gave it to fifth-year senior Charlotte McClure to read aloud to her teammates. What started out as words from Gators past quickly turned to wisdom for Gators present.
I know this sounds crazy, as you are headed into the fitness test and the start of 2-3 days, but I am incredibly jealous. I miss those days of lining up or getting ready in the locker room with my Gator sisters. If I could tell my college self one thing, it would be to be 10 toes down each day. I remember wishing the preseason was over or Tuesday's hard practices weren't as hard, and in hindsight, those are some of the times I miss the most. … So when I say 10 toes down, I mean don't wish any day away. Don't waste any moment of the toughest times, that is where you will forge who you will be in each other's lives forever. … Don't forget what got you to today, but go kick each day's ass as if it is the only day that matters, and remember to stay 10 toes down in each moment. So PROUD to be your Gator sister – just slightly older lol.
Katie Tullis as a junior for the Gators in 1997. (Photo: Alan Campbell)
The note was from Katie Tullis(now Katie Wano), who arrived as a freshman for UF's inaugural 1995 soccer season and left as a senior with the 1998 national championship.
Bohon, as the letter was shared, scanned the audience to read the room.
She saw some tears.
"It was about feeling gratitude for every day you're able to step on the field, that you're given that opportunity to work hard; given this facility, these resources, these coaches that love and care about you. What are you going to do with that?" freshman forward Kai Tsakiris said. "I just loved hearing it and I'll never forget it."
And that was the point.
Over the summer, as Bohon was prepping for the start of preseason practice, she blasted a GroupMe text to her massive list of UF alumni with a request. She asked for former players to write letters to her current players. Bohon is a huge advocate for connecting former players to her current ones– it's a baseline for the program's culture – and requested messages of support, encouragement or advice.
More than 40 responded. Players from all eras of UF's program, now in its 31st season.
That thread, that theme, was about the moment and living in it.
Ten toes down.
A cliché? Sure. But the thing about cliches is they were once deemed profound and thus stood the test of time to be used again and again. Sometimes they still strike the right note.
"It's cool to see the different stages of the people who write the letters are in their lives and implementing all their experiences and pull the positives out of it," sophomore defender Abby Gemma said. "You remember the positives. No one is writing letters about sitting around and not being happy about their playing time. They're saying you have to utilize everything the University of Florida has to offer and be grateful. I think it's really cool. It gives you a chance to stop and really think about everyone else and all the experiences they had, even outside of soccer."
What does "ten toes down" mean? To borrow another cliché, "be where your feet are." As in, don't get caught up so much in where you're trying to go that you don't appreciate the journey and challenge to get there.
Here's another one that resonated; for obvious (World Cup and Olympic gold-medal) reasons: Abby Wambach as a Gator (Photo: Alan Campbell) As you head into this new season, know that I also sat in a locker having yet to accomplish all the season would offer. Are you willing to sacrifice some stuff to get what you want? Are you willing to take more responsibility for your team's success than ever before? Are you curious about what changes you can be implementing to make you better? Are you showing, day in and day out, that you CARE the most out there? That this team, that this school, that this moment matters and you are opening yourself up to utter annihilation if you don't win the moment?
These are some questions. The answers are in your results. Your move!!!
Bohon is in her fourth UF season. In her first three the Gators combined to go 12-27-13 and won just three of 30 SEC games, as she worked to rebuild a program that once was the league's unquestioned powerhouse. Most of the problems were on offense, where the Gators managed just 13 goals during the entire 2024 season.
In 2025, against a schedule ranked by the NCAA as the nation's eighth toughest, they've already scored 18 goals (with at least seven games to play), even after playing No. 15 South Carolina to a scoreless stalemate last Sunday. In that one, UF made an on-the-fly adjustment by shifting its forwards back to protect the goal and matched the league's No. 1-ranked defense to get its first tie of 2025.
"Everyone had to buy in and be really focused to execute like that, and it wasn't going to work if one person was out of position or if one person was too high up the field," Gemma said. "With everybody bought in, it's really cool to see. One person affects the other. We didn't get the result we wanted, but we got the first SEC shutout of the season."
A lot of toes were down. Consider the moment – and outcome – a reference point.
Being a Gator changed my life, and I'll always be grateful. You're part of something great. "Grow through what you go through" and don't forget to love the process!
Daviana Vaka in 2023. Photo by Mallory Peak
That one came from Daviana Vaka, a defender who played on the last two Bohon teams. Her letter, like all the others, has been taped to a wall in the UF locker room for all the players to see and contemplate.
Freshman forward Kai Tsakiris (2) shares second on the team in points with six heading into Friday night's SEC match at Georgia. (Photo: Jordan Perez)
"It puts things in another perspective," Tsakiris said. "Everyone goes through highs and lows, but it makes you think that before your team, there was another team, and before that another one, and they all went through it and shared the same pain of preseason, of wins and losses and bonding and chemistry. This culture goes back years and is talked about a lot, but it's cool to hear how it still translates and shows how action speaks louder than words."
True, but the words in these letters, Bohon and her players believe, are speaking volumes.
You may not realize it now, but you're in the middle of something you'll never experience again. … The bonds you're building right now – through sweat, frustration and laughter – are ones that will stick with you long after the cleats come off. That sense of family, of knowing someone has your back without needing to say a word, it's rare. And it's powerful.
I still miss it. And not the sprints (though those will haunt me forever) – but the locker room, the bus rides, the quiet moments of knowing you were part of something bigger than yourself. You'll look back and realize these were some of the highest highs of your life.
So dig in. Embrace the chaos. Complain about the running if you must – but know that years from now, you'll wish for one more day of this. One more laugh. One more tackle. One more [season] with your sisters.
