- Favorite subject: Biology
- Favorite school lunch: Tuscan Chicken Wrap
- Loves 80's and 90's music
- Role models: mom and older sister
- National Honors Society member
Mercy High School – Mercy High School’s girls’ field hockey team has proven to be hard to beat this season. Taking the lead in most of the field hockey categories for the Fall Fan Choice awards, we decided to highlight one particular student athlete.
17-year-old Grace Fadool is a senior and one of the four captains on her team. Her first experience with playing field hockey was during her freshman year at Mercy High and from there she turned into the toughest defensive sweeper on her team, which is why she’s the winner of Local 4’s 4Frenzy “Fullback” Fan Choice Award.
“As the defensive sweeper, I’m like the last person on the field closest to the goalie,” she explains. “It’s kind of nerve racking because if the ball gets past you then its kind of just one-on-one with the goalie.”
While describing the role and challenges of her position on the field, Fadool also discusses her experience with other positions and compares them to her current one. “I think it’s a fun position to play; It’s very different than any other position on the team,” Fadool says. “I’ve had a little bit of experience with all of the positions and I’d say it’s probably my favorite because it’s so different.”
Fadool also says that her position requires a lot of communication with the goalie and is more zone-based. “The other positions are usually man-to-man, so I cover whoever’s not covered by other players,” she says.
The senior adds that field hockey is a very underrated sport and that many don’t believe it’s a real sport. “A lot of people don’t think it’s a sport at all or think it’s an easy sport, but if you watch us it’s a challenging sport.”
The West Bloomfield native shared with us why she believes she was chosen to be one of the captains of her team. “I would probably say I’m pretty vocal and loud on the field, and bring positive energy that is definitely needed to play field hockey,” she says. “I think captain isn’t just about being the best on the field, but being the most positive on the team and when something goes wrong, you build them back up.”
Besides leading her team, Fadool says that she loves everyone on her team and that it’s a good social sport for girls to meet new friends. “I love my team; I am so happy that I joined field hockey my freshman year; I met all my best friends on the team,” she says. “It’s [field hockey] pretty common at all-girls schools to play field hockey; It’s a pretty social sport, it’s a great way to meet other girls and have something to do.”
As far as Fadool’s plans for field hockey after high school, she says she is considering playing intramural field hockey in college. “I haven’t thought too much about it, but I definitely don’t want to give it up,” she says.
We’d like to thank our 4Frenzy sponsors for their support: DMC Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine, Hungry Howie’s, Meijer, Southeast Michigan Ford Dealers, and Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.