Soccer is in their blood: Middletown coach learned from her father

She is now in her first year of teaching 6th graders at Middletown’s Highview Elementary.

The fall soccer season just wrapped up and Zayion completed her first year as the assistant coach for the same girls team her father coached just a few years ago.

The two Middies — Hyman is a Middletown native and graduated in 1997 — said they are proud to be a generational part of city schools’ prep sports program.

But more importantly, together they cherish their bond made stronger through sports and shared leadership for their beloved high school.

“My Dad is one of my biggest role models and he really shaped my ideas of what a coach should be,” said the 24-year-old Zayion, who went on from Middletown to earn her teaching degree at Bowling Green State University.

“He taught me that it’s not about winning, it’s about improving, and always wanting to get better. Even throughout the years as I watched him coach players after me, his philosophy never changed, and that was my biggest inspiration,” she said.

That attitude is one of the many reasons she returned to her home school system to instruct and lead future Middies as a teacher and now assistant soccer coach.

“I wanted to help others grow in the sense he had taught me. He taught me that soccer, especially women’s soccer at Middletown is about so much more than just the sport. It’s about being a friend, a role model, a teacher, a ‘parent’ in some sense,” said Zayion.

Hyman, who is a Middletown native and now is director of coaching Eclipse FC a Middletown soccer club, said his daughter’s decision to return to the city schools was the closing of satisfying family circle.

“I am amazed and proud of the impact Zayion is having in Middletown Schools not only coaching but also teaching in the school system,” said Hyman, who is a products researcher for Procter & Gamble Company.

“Now to see her making a difference in the classroom and then taking the time to do the same thing on the field is exciting. I’m glad that after getting her (college) degree she decided to come back and be a part of the Middie community. She’s definitely a role model and I’m so proud of everything she’s accomplishing.”

“I’ve had the chance to catch (some) of her home games. And it’s always great to talk to her after the game. We get to talk about different parts of the game and how she handled different situations. I get to share a little of what I went through in hopes that it helps, but I also get to sit back and listen to how she is figuring it out on her own,” he said.

“It’s nice to get to see her grow into the coach that she’s going to be and just seeing her growth in her first season has been awesome.”

His daughter is glad to return to her Middie roots.

“It’s always been my dream to give back to the community that made me into the person I am today,” said Zayion.” When I graduated high school, I always knew I would come back, I just wasn’t sure in what capacity. And I knew I wanted to make a difference and be a change maker.”

Just like her father.