Hannah Britt couldn’t get the thought out of her head: What if she never played soccer again?
The thought danced around in her mind as she was airlifted to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
Spasms in her back caused the Heritage Academy senior to lose sensation in her legs, which caused doctors to consider the possibility Britt might have an issue with her spinal cord.
“It crushed me,” Britt said. “I didn’t think I was going to be able to come back. Once I got to Le Bonheur, they told me with physical therapy I could come back and play. I didn’t have to do the physical therapy because of the medicine they gave me.”
Britt’s father, Joey, said all of the MRIs Hannah had turned out good and that the muscle relaxers his daughter took finally gave her some relief.
Two weeks later, Britt was back on the field after missing two matches.
Britt can look back on the scare and smile today. She can do so knowing she had a chance to finish her soccer career in style by earning Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA North All-District honors. Britt was honored with teammates Haley Marie Fisackerly and Haley Barker. Senior goalkeeper Kat Sykes also was named to play in the MAIS Senior All-Star Game last month.
The Heritage Academy players joined Starkville Academy’s Hays Miller (All-District) and Shelton Spivey, Hannah Cuevas, Sydney Passons, and Bonner Hughes (All-Stars, All-District) in receiving postseason honors.
Starkville Academy won the MAIS Division III State championship last month.
Heritage Academy lost twice to Starkville Academy in the regular season. Lamar School was the other team to beat Heritage Academy twice. Both teams went on to win state titles.
Heritage Academy (5-6) beat or split with every other team on its schedule. Two of the victories — against Kirk Academy and Indianola Academy — came against teams that advanced to the playoffs.
Heritage Academy first-year head coach Tom Velek said the three All-District and one All-Star honors doubled the number of accolades the team received last season.
“To have four of our players recognized is another testament to what kind of team we have and the talent we had,” Velek said.
Britt primarily played center midfielder. Fisackerly (center back), Barker (striker), and Sykes anchored a team that Velek said significant strides from the beginning of the season.
Velek credited Britt for providing strong support to the strikers.
“She is truly a multi-faceted player,” Velek said.
Velek feels the same way about Sykes, who played one of the best games by a goalkeeper in a loss to Starkville Academy, which is coached by her brother, Matt. Matt Sykes played goalkeeper at Heritage Academy before moving on to East Central Community College in Decatur. He moved on to play at William Carey before transferring to Mississippi State to complete his studies.
Kat’s father, Greg, said she started playing soccer when she was 4 or 5 years old and stopped playing for a few years because she started to do competitive gymnastics. When she returned to soccer, she found a spot in goal and grew into one of the state’s best at the position.
“I didn’t start out as a goalkeeper,” Sykes said. “I was in the field and when I got put in the goal I quit for a few years. I guess my brother (Matt, who is the girls soccer coach at Starkville Academy) being a goalkeeper, (former Heritage Academy girls soccer) coach Joe (Asadi) assumed I would be. I have just tried to work hard to become better than my brother.”
Kat said she will go to MSU to study to become a nurse practitioner. She said she thought about playing soccer in college, but she thinks she will just go to a four-year school to be a student.
Even though the team loses Britt and Sykes, Velek is confident the team can grow with Barker and Fisackerly playing key roles. He said both players know a lot will be expected from them next season and he is confident they will be up for the challenge.
“I know (Barker) is going to be the lynch pin of our attack in the next two years,” Velek said. “She is just a great athletic player. Hopefully as we mature as a team there will be more people around her who can make things happen and more people she will be willing to play off to.
“Haley Marie began the year playing as a striker. When it became clear we needed to shore up the defense, she was moved to center back, where she started every game. She proved to have the attitude and physical style of play necessary for a strong defender.”
Britt will attend Mississippi College, where she hopes to study something in the medical field, possibly orthopedics. She isn’t sure if she will continue to play intramural soccer in college. If Velek had his way, he would bring Britt back for one more year.
“In the middle of the season, she was hospitalized and it was not clear if she would be able to return to action. It is a credit to her character and drive that as soon as she was cleared to play she was back training and playing at 100 percent,” Velek said. “Some of her best matches (against Columbus Christian Academy and Starkville Academy) were after she came back from injury. I wish we had her for another year.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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