By Erik Harris
BREVARD, N.C. – After a successful high school and college soccer career, one Clay-Chalkville alum has found herself learning a new game. Not a game to play, but to coach at Brevard College in North Carolina.
Kristin Rosato, a 2007 graduate of Clay-Chalkville High School, is no stranger to success on the soccer field. She served as a four-year varsity starter for the Cougars before taking her game to the college level.
Rosato garnered All-Peach Belt Conference honors as a three-year captain of the Montevallo woman’s soccer team. She got her first taste of college coaching as a graduate assistant at Montevallo in 2012.
She knew coaching could be her future, she just didn’t expect lacrosse to be the sport.
After two years of experience as an assistant for the Montevallo women’s soccer team, Rosato was called up to North Carolina, where a new opportunity waited.
Brevard had just lost its head women’s lacrosse coach when one of Rosato’s former college coaches—Shigeyoshi Shinohara—called to see if she had any interest in a job opening.
The aspiring coach jumped in her car and headed North. Before she could even throw the car in park on the campus of Brevard, Rosato was offered an assistant coaching job.
After a season of experience in her new sport, Rosato has been promoted to head coach of the women’s lacrosse program. She received the promotion in April.
Despite having no experience on a lacrosse field, she was embraced by the team from the start and has since gained her player’s respect. The player’s opinions went a long way in promoting Rosato to head coach.
“We took the girls’ opinions into it,” said Rosato. “We asked every single girl what they wanted, and all of them said they wanted me to be head coach.”
According to the new head coach, her vast experience on the soccer field has, in many ways, prepared her for this chapter of her life.
“Having a soccer background really helps in the transition of lacrosse, and if you know anything about basketball, that’s how you run your offense and that’s how you run your defense,” said Rosato.
She admits to needing help on the technical side of the game. Rosato hopes to gain extensive knowledge of the game’s fundamentals over the course of the summer as she visits numerous lacrosse camps.
“I can’t really teach the technical side and I hate that, but I’m trying to still learn,” said Rosato.
After assisting for both lacrosse and soccer last season, Rosato will be able to commit all of her efforts toward lacrosse moving forward.
Rosato and Athletic Director Juan Mascaro coached the Tornados to a 3-12 finish in the program’s second season of existence.
Moving forward, Rosato believe she can bring an intense competitive spirit out of her team; the same competitive spirit she exuded as a soccer player.
“Just like I was as a player, I’m intense, I’m competitive, and I think most of our girls are too, which is great,” said Rosato. “They’re all driven for the same thing. We want to do the best we can.”
As a recruiter, Rosato wants use her Alabama connections to get prospects up to Brevard. Tapping into the Trussville Club and high school pool is a priority for the Clay native.
“I’m just trying to tap into all the South,” said Rosato. “I’m trying my best, I’ve got to make as many contacts as possible.”