Midfielder Cari Roccaro’s move to the Red Stars at the start of 2023 marks her second cross-border move in two years.
Admittedly, it wasn’t an easy transition for her when she joined the organization. The uncertainty following two big trades affected her greatly. That, plus the fact that the Red Stars were in flux, with no ownership and a lack of resources, made it even more difficult.
“Honestly, it’s just blending it all together and just trying to hold up,” Roccaro said. “That’s what people don’t realize when they’re watching the game. People don’t really know what’s going on in someone’s mind.”
It wasn’t until college that Roccaro began to better understand and care for her mental health: As a freshman at Notre Dame, she experienced symptoms of anxiety and depression and sought therapy for the first time in her life.
But once she reached the professional level, personal experiences exacerbated her struggles prior to the 2019 season.
“It felt a little different than the constant depression I’ve been going through,” Roccaro said. “At first I thought I’d take a leave of absence, but the league didn’t give me that option at the time.”
Roccaro ended up playing the entire season, but with no options available regarding his mental illness, he decided to speak out.
When the NWSL Players Association was negotiating its first-ever collective bargaining agreement with the league, Roccaro made it clear that mental health needed to be paid attention to. She suggested to player representatives at the time that the league allow mental health leave of absence.
The NWSL’s mental health policy allows players to take up to six months of paid leave if recommended by a psychologist or psychiatrist, believed to be the first of its kind in US professional sports.
“As athletes, we need to remember that we are human beings too,” Roccaro said.
In 2020, Roccaro and his former Notre Dame teammate, Ginny McGowan, took it a step further by launching a podcast dedicated to destigmatizing conversations about mental health.
McGowan was two years younger than Roccaro. Their friendship developed after Roccaro graduated. McGowan said Roccaro helped him overcome his own mental health issues while he was playing at Notre Dame. When McGowan pitched the idea of starting a podcast to Roccaro, he was all for it.
“I’ve struggled with performance anxiety my whole life, no matter what sport I’ve played,” McGowan says. “I didn’t find much help online, and I hadn’t heard of any other athletes who had the same condition. My thought was, ‘Can Kali and I talk about this issue and other athletes who have gone through the same struggles, so people can understand that successful professional athletes are just like me?'”
Roccaro and McGowan have spotlighted a variety of athletes, from Dak Prescott to Aly Raisman, and hosted guests like Lindsey Horan and Jess McDonald.
Now a little over a year into her new life in Chicago, Roccaro is excited to be a part of turning a new page in the Red Stars’ history, and she’s beginning to feel at home here.
Roccaro was on the North Carolina college team that beat the Red Stars in the NWSL championship game in 2019. As the Red Stars work to establish a championship culture, he has noticed some similarities.
“This team is really united,” Roccaro said, “and I’m really happy to be a part of this culture. The way we get along and fight for each other shows that we can work hard and do really well at home and away. We can compete with any team. We really believe that.”
