By Alexa Hoover, Penn Field Hockey, Class of 2018
Everyone wants to make a difference in this world whether big or small. But how can we do it? As college athletes, we are no strangers to the media. From newspaper articles to post-game interviews, we are constantly in the public’s eye. Our team wanted to use this to our advantage and that’s when Brynn came into the picture.
Coach Fink had already known the Connors from college, but it was on Facebook that she had first heard about the Believe in Brynn cause. She wasted no time contacting the Connor’s to learn more. Their daughter Brynn suffers from Rett Syndrome, a “neurological disorder that occurs almost exclusively in girls and leads to severe impairments, affecting nearly every aspect of the child’s life: their ability to speak, walk, eat, and even breathe easily.” When Coach Fink asked the team if this was something we wanted to pursue, we immediately wanted to help. Rett primarily affects girls, so it really hit home for us. One of our primary goals is to be women who support other women and this is just one small way to do that.
The Connor’s came to a practice so we could meet the whole family and we instantly fell in love with Brynn. She’s such a happy girl and her smile is truly infectious. Having her as a part of our Penn Field Hockey family is important for so many reasons. As a team, we are able to help bring awareness to Rett and do our part in finding a cure. At the same time, Brynn and her family motivate the team on and off the field.
I was asked once asked in a post-game interview, “how does having Brynn here help you guys during the game?” My honest answer is that it makes you want to fight harder. When you think you’re too tired to make that extra run or you’re too sore to get to that ball before it reaches the end-line, you remember that you’re lucky to even be playing at all. And it really puts things into perspective: if Brynn and her family can find the strength to fight every single day, we too can find the strength. We step on the field ready to give it our all and we do it for each of the girls and boys who were unfairly stripped of the opportunity to do the same. We love our girl Brynn and we are going to continue to work until we can finally reverse Rett.
Alexa Hoover is a senior captain on the Penn field hockey team. Hoover capped an outstanding campaign for the Quakers as the all-time leader in goals (68) and points (163) and ranks fourth all-time in the Ivy League in both categories as well. Hoover earned her fourth All-Ivy first-team honor, becoming the sixth player in the 38-year history of Ancient Eight to be a four-time honoree and the first Quaker to do in program history.
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