Women's Cross Country | October 06, 2022

Transitions are an aspect of life that can be difficult to adjust to. Adapting to a new environment has proved to be a daunting task for most. For Ali Samaha, her transition between two different sports has been strikingly seamless.
 
Samaha, a native of Tallahassee, Fla., began her collegiate athletic career on the women's soccer team her freshman year before ultimately making the switch to cross country. She was recruited to play soccer by the previous coach but instead played her first season under the new coaching staff. 
 
Despite the transition between coaches and the expectations that altered during the switch, Samaha made a great impact on the team, playing in and starting the majority of games. 
 
"It was really great. I had a lot of pressure, especially being a freshman. It was just really cool to have that opportunity," said Samaha. 
 
During the spring season of her freshman year, Samaha tore her left ACL, changing her course in athletics. 
 
"Three years ago, I tore my right ACL, and in the spring, I tore my left. At that point I was conflicted, wondering if I wanted to play anymore," Samaha stated. 
 
Between two major injuries and the sudden coaching change, she realized soccer was not the best path for her to continue down. After discussions with her coach and the impending likelihood of her tearing her ACL again, Samaha made the decision to switch to cross country. 
 
Due to the rehabilitation process of her injury, preparation for the upcoming season was minute. She was not cleared to run until just over a month before her first race. She relied heavily on weight lifting since endurance training was not an option. 
 
Cross country is new territory for Samaha. She had never run cross country in her entire life until now. Despite being a novice to this sport, she is posting some of the best marks on her team. In her first collegiate race, Samaha finished 22nd with a time of 25:06.74. Since then, she has continued to place highly at the meets. 
 
"It was something new," Samaha stated. "If I wasn't going to succeed fully in soccer my four years, I wanted to put my energy into something else. I think that is what has driven me to run as good as I've been running and still wanting to be better for this team."
 
The transition has been made easier due to the solidarity she has found in her teammates, two of which have made the same challenging transition from soccer as well. 
 
"It has been good. It gives a familiar face walking into it. It is comforting to know I am not the only one transferring from soccer to cross country for the first time ever," said Samaha. "The struggles that they have are similar to the struggles that I have. It is nice to have people who understand."
 
Going from the soccer field to the cross country course was not as big of a change as Samaha had initially thought. Due to the similarity of her position in soccer, the mileage she ran in both sports is comparable. 
 
"I was playing midfield and left back, so I was running up and down the field 24/7. The mileage I was running in soccer is basically the same as cross country. The only difference is I'm running constantly, not just run and then stop," Samaha stated. 
 
The learned mentality from soccer has helped her immensely on the tail end of her races on the course. 
 
"From soccer, being able to push through a singular moment helps me with cross country," Samaha said. "When I'm pushing through at the end and really struggling, I only have a minute left, compared to soccer when you're struggling for 90 straight minutes."
 
Cross country has become something she finds a lot of enjoyment in despite being unsure it would be a great fit for her. 
 
"I really enjoy it but didn't think I would. It is so new which makes it a lot of fun," said Samaha. 
 
Going forward, Samaha's long-term goal aims to shorten her 5K time to 19 minutes. As far as this season is concerned, she hopes to shorten her time from 25 minutes to 22 minutes. Samaha aims to help the team to its best finish possible in each of the upcoming meets.