Attitude is everything: Westside Middle School athlete proves perspective matters

Published 9:00 am Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Editor’s note: This article appears in the Daily Citizen-News 2019 Progress edition. Pick up your copy at our office at 308 S. Thornton Ave.

It isn’t enough for Lexi Lyon to just be in the game. She wants to win.

If you saw Lyon running a race, sinking a free throw or scoring a goal, chances are you’d immediately notice one thing about her — she’s doing it all with one hand.

Lyon was born without a left hand and forearm, a result of amniotic band syndrome. A non-genetic, random event, ABS “occurs when the fetus becomes entangled in fibrous string-like amniotic bands in the womb, restricting blood flow and affecting the baby’s development,” according to a description by Mount Sinai Hospital. “It can cause a number of different anomalies depending on which body part(s) is affected.”

It’s the first thing many people notice about Lyon, but at an increasing rate it’s not what they remember most about the Westside Middle School seventh-grader.

“She’s a little spitfire,” New Hope Middle School girls basketball coach Erin Ledford said. “There isn’t anything she can’t do, and do well.”

Ledford coached against Lyon this past season and saw the young point guard’s drive to win. New Hope had already defeated Westside twice in the regular season, but on this occasion Lyon was imposing her will and almost beating New Hope by herself. With her team down at halftime, Ledford gave an impassioned speech, urging her players to raise their effort to Lyon’s level, but for Westside’s coach, Steven Ridley, he had seen this out of his point guard before.

“If there’s something to be won, she’s doing what it takes to win it,” Ridley said. “She never expects any pity.”

Coming out of halftime, New Hope switched its defense to focus more on Lyon, but the shift in strategy wasn’t enough as Westside defeated New Hope to advance to the North Georgia Middle School Athletic League championship. Lyon’s effort was singularly responsible for the game’s outcome, according to Ledford.

“There was no reason they should have beat us this year,” Ledford said. “After the game, I actually got a little teary-eyed and told my team what (Lyon) just did was something you can’t teach. It was all heart.”

Self-starter

It doesn’t take long when speaking with Lyon to discover what leads to her athletic success — confidence. She takes on every challenge head on, with a certain assurance that hard work and determination will ultimately lead to success. Growing up with different physical tools than others can be challenging, but according to Lyon’s mother it never presented as a problem for her daughter.

“It may sound strange, but I couldn’t tell you anything I’ve had to help her with,” Katie Lyon said. “There’s never been something she hasn’t been able to do. There’s not even really been times where she’s been frustrated with something.”

Parenting can be inherently worrisome, but for parents raising a child with special circumstances the uncertainty can bring additional anxiety. Katie Lyon was a teacher at Lyon’s elementary school and naturally found herself checking on her daughter from time to time. It wasn’t long before mom learned how resourceful her daughter really was.

“I would check in on her sometimes but she never needed my help,” Katie Lyon said. “She would look at me like ‘What are you doing here?’ She has a really strong personality, and she has this innate ability to just figure things out.”

Growing into a leader

Lyon’s intuition for life translated well into her passion for sports. Growing up in a family full of athletes, it wasn’t a surprise when Lyon began participating in a variety of sports at an early age. The middle child between a pair of brothers, Lyon tried distance running, basketball, softball and soccer throughout her elementary years.

Never getting the easy treatment from her brothers, and never asking for it, Lyon continued to develop athletically. She competed in cross country and basketball this school year for Westside, and currently plays with the school’s soccer team along with her club soccer team, The Belles. Westside girls soccer coach Katie Teasley knew what to expect on the soccer field after seeing Lyon play basketball.

“Her willingness to compete stood out,” Teasley said. “People would try to push her around, but she wouldn’t let that happen. I knew she was going to be super competitive and physical, and I immediately looked forward to having her on the soccer team.”

Lyon was voted by her teammates a captain this season for Westside, and Teasley said players both younger and older look to Lyon for leadership.

John-Eric Bolger, the director of soccer for the Northwest Soccer Academy, coaches Lyon with The Belles. Having coached and developed a number of players who have signed college scholarships along with nine Olympic Development team players, Bolger has an eye for what it takes for a youth player to reach their potential. Lyon’s willingness to adapt has impressed Bolger since she joined the program four years ago.

“She’s not afraid to fail,” Bolger said. “In the youth soccer arena, developing as a player is at times far more important than winning. To her credit, as Lexi has gotten older she’s started to understand how to use her competitive drive and channel it into her development as a player.”

Winning attitude

Whether at basketball practice or in a social studies class review, Lyon takes whatever she’s participating in seriously. When it comes to her athletics, she isn’t playing to fill time or socialize. She’s playing to compete. She’s playing to win.

It doesn’t take much digging to find where she learned the drive.

“Everybody’s pretty competitive in my family,” Lyon said. “We all want to win.”

It isn’t a win at all costs mentality, however. Ben Rickett, the men’s golf coach at Dalton State College and uncle-in-law to Lyon, said he’s seen how the Lyons have nurtured healthy mindsets in all three of their children.

“It’s a huge testament to her parents, her personality,” Rickett said. “When you’re different, you immediately think it’s a negative, but she’s really turned it all into a positive. They’re all athletes in that family, but they’re all very humble, too.”

According to those who know Lyon best, she leads from the front. Whether she is volunteering through her church or assisting a special needs classmate with tying a shoe — yes, Lyon is the one doing the tying — she doesn’t seem hesitant to help others. She isn’t shy about speaking her mind either, and doesn’t allow for excuses to be made. She said she realizes others may find her story inspirational, but understanding the true scope of her impact on others is something that may grow with time.

“I’m blessed to coach her,” Ridley said. “She’s a leader, and everyone has to step up to her level because of her competitiveness. I’ve had coaches or other parents, even referees, tell me she’s a blessing to watch. It reminds me every day not to make excuses because she doesn’t let anything stop her. It really is inspirational.”