RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University soccer team has added some local talent with the signing of Leighanne Hastie, a 6-year-old from Richmond who inked her National Letter of Intent through Team IMPACT on Monday morning at Alumni Coliseum.
The press conference was standing-room only, filled with Leighanne’s family and friends and all of her new teammates and coaches.
Team IMPACT is a national nonprofit headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts that connects children facing serious or chronic illnesses with college athletic teams, forming life-long bonds and life-changing outcomes.
Leighanne has been courageously batting epilepsy since 2015.
Through Team IMPACT’s program, Leighanne will become an official member of the EKU soccer team. As a team member, she will attend practices, games, team dinners, events, and more.
Since 2011, Team IMPACT has matched nearly 1,600 children with more than 500 colleges and universities in 48 states, reaching over 50,000 participating student-athletes. The child joins the athletic team and the student-athletes join the child’s support team. Throughout the journey, the child gains strength, camaraderie and support while the student-athletes experience lessons of courage, resiliency and perspective they can’t learn in a classroom.
