Lady Blues find support from every direction, bond in the face of tragedy

The Lady Blues soccer team returned to action Friday night at Stephenville. They were less than a week from losing a friend and teammate. They were a little over 24 hours from saying their final goodbyes to Harley Grafton, who passed away the previous weekend.

The score did not matter. The district standings did not matter. The only thing that mattered was playing the game they loved and learning to move forward without Number 11.

Not playing the game was never an option. The Lady Blues began planning how they were going to honor Grafton the same day they learned of her passing. Coach Misty Mills had suggested playing a few minutes with 10 players on the field, the team suggested 11 minutes for Number 11.

Last week was not about preparing for a district match or playoff seeding. Last week was about being there for each other. It was for bonding and healing.

The team did practice during the week. They had “fun” practices, as Mills called them. It was not always competitive except for one practice game.

“We played World Cup,” Mills said. “That was Harley’s favorite game that we play in practice. They matched into their teams and I play goalie for that.

On Wednesday, the team planned a surprise for Mills.

“I kept getting excuses from players about why they were going to be late to practice,” Mills said. “I’m at the point where I don’t care about my birthday. But my birthday was Wednesday and the girls wanted to celebrate my birthday. They planned a surprise for me for my birthday.”

The Lady Blues found support coming from many directions. As did Grafton’s family. A GoFundMe to help with expenses for the funeral and memorial services raised $4,000 in less than a day. The community came together for a bake sale for the family. Stephenville High School pledged to donate 50% of Friday’s concession sales to support Grafton’s family.

For the rest of the story, see the March 17 edition of The Graham Leader.