HOOP PRAY LOVE

HAILEY GRANT thought she’d spend her basketball career playing in front of her friends and family. That thought was put on hold when her mother fell ill.

Says Grant, “Playing through my mothers’ sickness was a huge struggle for me.”

Two days before senior night, Grant’s mother passed away after a tough battle with cancer. While it was a struggle for her to keep her mind off of her mom while she hooped, she found the strength to continue to play.

“When my mom got sick it hit me, life is short and bad things can happen to anybody,” said Grant.

Life without her mother was an adjustment. It was difficult to maintain a sense of normalcy, but she shifted her mindset and began to notice that her new way of thinking attracted positivity into her life. Still, there are moments of reflection in which she thinks of her mother. Months later, her perspective has changed.

Says Grant, ” I am grateful that God put me through something like that because it showed me that I can get through a lot of things.”

PUSH DEEPER. FIGHT HARDER.

Those words played repeatedly in her mind.

Instead of looking for her teammates to uplift her, she dug deep and focused on ways to inspire her teammates. Hooping allowed her to escape. She realized that it’s more than a game, it was a way for her to get away from pain. As she dealt with troubles off of the court she poured all she had into playing the game — basketball become therapeutic.

Her dedication led her to receive an athletic scholarship to Missouri Southern.

What has the game taught her?

PERSEVERANCE. DISCIPLINE. COMMITMENT. 

“Basketball has taught me that no matter what I’m going through I can overcome anything that I put my mind to,” said Grant.

Hailey Grant is a wise girl. She’s the type of player that you want to get to know off the hardwood because of her gentle spirit and wisdom.

She says, “Basketball is going to end one day. No one is going to remember the game I scored 30 points, people are going to remember the type of person I was. Trust in God, his plan for us is greater than any troubles that we face.”

Basketball and her faith have helped her find peace.