UHS Alumna Kat Roche shares her rugby story with student-athletes and staff

This Summer, Unionville High School (UHS) Alumna Kat Roche (C/O ‘12) made her Olympic debut in Paris as one of the first-ever Americans to officiate rugby at the Games. This week, she returned to share her story with a select group of UHS and Patton student-athletes and staff. 

Roche got her start in rugby at UHS before pursuing a successful career at North Carolina State University. The former player now serves as a professional referee across the United States and around the world. 

No stranger to breaking barriers, she became the first woman lead referee for Major League Rugby in 2021 and the third American to referee a Six Nations Match in 2022. 

UCFSD Supervisor of Athletics Joe Vogler welcomed students and staff to the session focused on the school’s athletic standard of Respect. “The values and standards we have are a reflection of what the community told us is most important in our athletics program,” added Director of Student Activities Pat Crater. “These six values, Integrity, Accountability, Respect, Teamwork, Perseverance and Competitiveness are the ones that our administration, coaches, athletes and parents have to live by.” 

Those present included the Student Athletic Advisory Council (USAAC), Values Ambassadors and some of their coaches. 

“I love that you have these values, “ began Roche. “We had values for the officiating team at the Olympics. Our very first value was respect, which meant respecting the game, respecting the players, respecting each other and respecting yourself.”

Roche encouraged students to show respect even, and perhaps especially, when it is hard to do so. “Some believe that respect needs to be earned,” she said. “I believe the opposite. I believe that you should go into every situation respecting everyone.” 

The group agreed that included opposing teams and officials, too. “As a referee, I get to see players in their best and worst states,” noted Roche. “You can disagree with me, but you have to disagree with me respectfully.” 

Boys soccer coach and social studies teacher Andrew Cordrey said “Now I’m thinking that we should think about respect as something that we do proactively versus reactively.” 

Roche later shared her advice for students who aspire to pursue a career in the field themselves. “It’s part the opportunity and part the preparation. When you do have the opportunity, you want to knock it out of the park,” she remarked. “When you make a bad call and the player looks at you like they can’t believe what you just did, you will feel that way too. Park it in your mind and move on. In the game, you can’t let that compound. As a player, it kind of works the same.”

Roche ended by saying that “officiating teaches you way more about the game than you ever thought possible.” 

“It was amazing to get to hear from a successful alum because it shows us, especially seniors, what life could look like in the near future,” shared USAAC President Fiona Avondolio. “Also, hearing about how someone found great success in a more unconventional job has given students inspiration to follow their passions rather than pursue a typical career path.”

For more information on the Values & Standards, please visit the UCFSD website.