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Lonni Alameda gave herself a few weeks to process the news of her breast cancer diagnosis.
It came as a shock, and before she sat down her Florida State softball team to break the news, she made a phone call.
The call?
She phoned FSU women's basketball head coach Brooke Wykcoff, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023 and has continued coaching the Seminoles while dealing with the new reality of her illness.
"I reached out to her because I was trying to really figure out how to navigate this, to then navigate the team," Alameda said. "That's the first thing. You got to get yourself going, and then you need to break it to your staff, and then break it to your team, right? So it was just, 'I don't know what's ahead of us, but this is our plan as we're moving forward.'
"Brooke has been really good and is in the same position."
That call and Alameda's connection with her team, which she describes as "family," led her to tell the team her news last week. She will continue to coach and has plans made with the team on how she'll balance those responsibilities and her health.
The Seminoles have won 13 straight games ahead of a week of big games that feature a rivalry showdown with No. 2 Florida Wednesday and a home series against Virginia, something Alameda is excited about. She knows the news of her diagnosis will surround the remainder of the season, but she and the team want to remain focused on the goal of competing for a national title.
She has praised the family-like connection of the Seminoles all year, and she said the team handled the news in the same way, rallying around her as family does.
"I've told you guys before, this is a very special team. It's a close-knit team, and so I knew that this might be news that maybe they've heard first time, or it could be triggering news for amount, amount of grounds that have gone through it, or moms that are going through it," Alameda said. "It's not something you want to share. And time to time, something from the outside comes in, and we handle it like a family, and they were incredible, and they've been very supportive."
Once Alameda and FSU softball made the news public on Monday, the Seminoles head coach said she received an outpouring of support from cancer survivors, colleagues, parents, fans and former players, among others.
She praised the local community and the close-knit world of softball as hundreds of text messages, social media posts and calls flooded her phone.
"This community is incredible. It's why I chose 17 years ago to come here. It's super crazy the community service that we've put in, and now the community service is giving back. It's just when I think of service, it's just more of integrating Florida State with where we live. And I feel like we have that here," Alameda said.
"The amount of support, text messages and emails and just the words of wisdom from people that have gone through it. I think that's the one thing that I knew that cancer and breast cancer, and all that is going on, but then you go and you sit in these rooms and you're just like, "Wow, like, this little bubble of softball that I get to be in all the time is amazing." And sometimes the outside world... I'm just so grateful for everything that's been poured out."
"I gave myself a couple of weeks to get my feet underneath me to kind of know how to handle this. I've always said family, and it is one big family, that's for sure."
FSU vs. Florida
Where/When: Wednesday, April 2, Seminole Softball Complex, 6 p.m.
TV/Radio: ACCNX/96.5 FM
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @__liamrooney
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Lonni Alameda praises community support following cancer diagnosis
Continue reading...
It came as a shock, and before she sat down her Florida State softball team to break the news, she made a phone call.
The call?
She phoned FSU women's basketball head coach Brooke Wykcoff, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023 and has continued coaching the Seminoles while dealing with the new reality of her illness.
"I reached out to her because I was trying to really figure out how to navigate this, to then navigate the team," Alameda said. "That's the first thing. You got to get yourself going, and then you need to break it to your staff, and then break it to your team, right? So it was just, 'I don't know what's ahead of us, but this is our plan as we're moving forward.'
"Brooke has been really good and is in the same position."
That call and Alameda's connection with her team, which she describes as "family," led her to tell the team her news last week. She will continue to coach and has plans made with the team on how she'll balance those responsibilities and her health.
The Seminoles have won 13 straight games ahead of a week of big games that feature a rivalry showdown with No. 2 Florida Wednesday and a home series against Virginia, something Alameda is excited about. She knows the news of her diagnosis will surround the remainder of the season, but she and the team want to remain focused on the goal of competing for a national title.
She has praised the family-like connection of the Seminoles all year, and she said the team handled the news in the same way, rallying around her as family does.
"I've told you guys before, this is a very special team. It's a close-knit team, and so I knew that this might be news that maybe they've heard first time, or it could be triggering news for amount, amount of grounds that have gone through it, or moms that are going through it," Alameda said. "It's not something you want to share. And time to time, something from the outside comes in, and we handle it like a family, and they were incredible, and they've been very supportive."
Once Alameda and FSU softball made the news public on Monday, the Seminoles head coach said she received an outpouring of support from cancer survivors, colleagues, parents, fans and former players, among others.
She praised the local community and the close-knit world of softball as hundreds of text messages, social media posts and calls flooded her phone.
"This community is incredible. It's why I chose 17 years ago to come here. It's super crazy the community service that we've put in, and now the community service is giving back. It's just when I think of service, it's just more of integrating Florida State with where we live. And I feel like we have that here," Alameda said.
"The amount of support, text messages and emails and just the words of wisdom from people that have gone through it. I think that's the one thing that I knew that cancer and breast cancer, and all that is going on, but then you go and you sit in these rooms and you're just like, "Wow, like, this little bubble of softball that I get to be in all the time is amazing." And sometimes the outside world... I'm just so grateful for everything that's been poured out."
"I gave myself a couple of weeks to get my feet underneath me to kind of know how to handle this. I've always said family, and it is one big family, that's for sure."
What's next for FSU softball?
FSU vs. Florida
Where/When: Wednesday, April 2, Seminole Softball Complex, 6 p.m.
TV/Radio: ACCNX/96.5 FM
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @__liamrooney
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Lonni Alameda praises community support following cancer diagnosis
Continue reading...
