Great Bridge High School's Hannah Zayicek has been playing soccer since age three and participating in highly competitive club soccer for as long as she can remember. Nearing the end of her junior year and third varsity season, she credits her father, Jon, for her success.

Soccer runs in the Zayicek family. Jon played the sport through college before turning to coaching. In fact, he was Hannah's club coach until last year, when she moved up to a higher level of competition. All that time spent practicing with her father paid off when Hannah made varsity as a freshman. "I wouldn't be here without him," she smiles.

"I love to win,
and seeing people better than me
makes me want to play harder."
-Hannah Zayicek

Hannah amassed 11 goals and 20 assists this year-a feat she did not expect. "I thought my stats would have been much lower," she says. "At the start of the season, I didn't know what our team would be capable of because we graduated a lot of seniors and had a lot of freshmen, so I was kind of nervous about how the season would go. But once we played our first game, I knew we would have a good season." Despite graduating seniors and new freshmen, the team has improved since last year. Hannah attributes that to their being more competitive: "The younger grades have heart and drive and competitiveness. They want to be there. They go after every ball; they're not lazy. They play at such a high intensity all the time that it makes us all play better."

Competitiveness is Hannah's favorite part of the sport. "It makes me better," she says. "I love to win, and seeing people better than me makes me want to play harder." Her competitive fire certainly trickles down to her teammates, but Head Coach Micah Moyer thinks her biggest contribution is her experience. "She's played varsity since she was a freshman," he notes. "She sticks to the game plan and provides a safety blanket for the team."

Hannah agrees: "I think Coach Moyer sees me as someone who can calm everyone down and control the field, especially in big games like Hickory. I help lead." She credits Coach Moyer for pushing her to become a better player.

Hannah also credits her personal trainer, Pablo Molina. "He's been training me privately since I was in seventh grade, and he has also made me the player I am today," she says. "I try to train with him once a week whenever I have time."  

Off the field, success has also found Hannah. She currently holds a 3.9 GPA. "When I'm off the field, I'm studying a lot," she explains. "I'm in a sports med anatomy course right now, and it's probably my favorite class but definitely my hardest." Hannah aspires to work in the medical field while maintaining involvement in sports. "I definitely want to continue to play when I'm in college," she says with a smile. "Anyone that picks me up-that's what I want to do in college. It doesn't matter where because I just love playing."