Senior Regals soccer defender Madie Fahey was recently awarded the CalHOPE Courage Award for the month of January. According to calhopecourageaward.org, the award is presented to recognize student-athletes who have overcome major life obstacles, challenges, or even trauma.ย
This award is granted to two student-athletes at California colleges and universities every month according to the website. Fahey said that California Lutheran University Sports Information Director Kieran Cantwell nominated her for the honor.
โIโm really excited, Iโm really honored to receive the award. I didnโt know I was nominated for it, in the first place, so that was, like, really exciting,โ Fahey said.
Fahey was recognized for her award on Wednesday, Feb. 5, in Gilbert Arena during halftime at the Kingsmen basketball game against La Verne. Fahey said she has had popliteal artery entrapment syndrome since the start of high school, which has been difficult for her as an athlete.
โSo after about, like, 15 minutes of physical activity, I lose, like, complete feeling in both of my legs which makes it super difficult, obviously, as a soccer player,โ Fahey said.
In her senior season, Fahey said she faced many mental and physical challenges due to her condition. She said she faced several obstacles in the nine games she played in, where she started in three of those nine.
โThere was times in games that I couldnโt, like, feel my legs when Iโd, like, play a pass or, like, even running, Iโd have to, like, sit down or, like, I would just, couldnโt feel my legs,โ Fahey said.
As Fahey had many expectations for her senior year, there was devastation when she found out that she would not be able to play this season to the end.
โMadie has always been a very solid player for us, so it was really hard when she wasnโt able to finish off the season because, not only did we lose her experience and talent, but we also lost her leadership โฆ Sheโs a really great player, but she did whatever she could off the field to help,โ senior midfielder Adri Maroney said.
Maroney said despite Madie not being able to play as much as she and her teammates had hoped, she still had a significant impact on the team.
โThroughout the rest of the season, she still was so a part of the team and it was really inspiring how in a really awful and tough situation, she came out an even better player, person, and teammate, especially, and I think she inspired everyone,โ Maroney said.
Senior forward Elisa Shott said watching Madie react to certain situations with a positive outlook has encouraged her to follow her example.
โWell, Madie is like the nicest person youโll ever meet in your entire life โฆ she encourages me to continue to have patience and to continue to be nice,โ Shott said.
Regals Soccer Head Coach Frank Marino said that despite the impact of Madieโs absence this season due to her injury, she was still an essential part of the team.
โBefore her medical condition flared up, she was amazing. She played 90 minutes in the national championship game to help us win the national championship and then her impact off the field, being heavily involved with the soccer clinics we run for children with disabilities, is absolutely something we are very proud of, and itโs 100% because of Madie,โ Marino said.
Since starting at Cal Lutheran, Fahey started an annual soccer camp for kids with special needs. Shott said this soccer camp provides not only opportunities for children with special needs but also offers a sense of warmth to those who help work these camps.
โI was fortunate to be a part of the camps every spring that sheโs been here and itโs just, like, itโs so, it just makes your heart feel so, like, full because itโs like you see these kids and itโs, like, they donโt have the same opportunities that I do being able to play and itโs like this is my way of giving back,โ Shott said.
Fahey said the spirit of these camps was inspired by the work her dad does for the California Interscholastic Federation, which according to Fahey is the โgoverning body of the high school sports in California.โย
Fahey said one of the things this organization does when schools race at the state track and cross country championships is pair an athlete who does not have special needs with an athlete who does have special needs in a โunified race.โ
โComing into Cal Lu, my high school didnโt offer any of those programs or anything. So then coming into Cal Lu I was like, โmaybe I should just start that myselfโ, so then I reached out to three high schools in the area,โ Fahey said. โI met with their special education department, asked them if they had like any connection with any camps and they said that thereโs like no real opportunities really, like itโs very rare to have an opportunity for kids to like participate in sports so I thought that was kind of unfair so I took it upon myself to like start the camp.โ
Maroney said she wants people to recognize Madie for her character and her service in the soccer community that has gone beyond playing the sport.
โI just want everyone to know how positive of a person she is, and especially in the work that sheโs done and will continue to do in the soccer community in general. You know, some people just play the sport but sheโs actually making important moves to help others in special education to be able to play the sport, which I think is really really special,โ Maroney said.
Shott, who is Faheyโs roommate and teammate, believes that she was more than deserving of the CalHOPE Courage Award.ย
โShe deserved this recognition, you know, for all the hardship that sheโs been through cause no one really sees what happens behind closed doors, how she reacts to it. Sheโs such a genuine person who puts others peopleโs feelings before hers,โ Shott said.
Marino said that he had nothing but the utmost gratitude to have met and coached such a person and player.
โI just want to finish with saying that Madie Fahey is the epitome of what a Regal soccer player should be on and off the field,โ Marino said.
