- November 22, 2024
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Cat Bradley and FPC girls soccer head coach Pete Hald have been together for 15 years since she was a player on the team. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Cat Bradley watches a drill during the Bulldogs' team soccer camp in June. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Cat Bradley talks with FPC soccer player Miranda Spencer. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Cat Bradley takes a selfie with the team on the final day of the Bulldogs' soccer camp on June 16. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Cat Bradley tosses the ball between drills. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Assistant coach Cat Bradley talks with head coach Pete Hald. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Cat Bradley with soccer players Savannah O'Grady and Isabella Kummernes. Photo by Brent Woronoff
"Every day I wake up is a win," Bradley said. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Cat Bradley tosses a ball to a player during FPC's team camp in June. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler Palm Coast assistant girls soccer coach Cat Bradley was just 21 years old when she received a liver transplant.
Bradley had autoimmune hepatitis. Without the new liver, her doctor said, she would have died within a week or two.
That was nine years ago. Last week, she received a message from her liver donor’s father. J.T. would have graduated high school this year.
Bradley thinks about J.T. often. He and his mom died in a car accident when he was 9. When his grieving father was asked if he wanted to donate J.T.’s organs, he didn’t think twice. He said yes.
That decision has been both a blessing and a burden for Bradley.
“I’m so thankful to be alive today,” she said, adding she’s gone through a lot of survivor’s guilt.
“The first couple of years, I went through some depression,” she said. “I didn’t understand why I was alive, and why J.T. died.
“There's no book on how to have a transplant and go home and have a life.”
CAT BRADLEY
“There’s no book on how to have a transplant and go home and have a life,” she said.
So, Bradley is writing her own book, metaphorically. She received the gift of life, and she’s not taking it lightly.
“I need to live life, and I need to be a good person,” she said.
She’s been assisting head girls soccer coach Pete Hald for 11 years. She started when she was a college student at Jacksonville University. In high school, she played soccer for Coach Hald and babysat his children.
“When she came on board, obviously I didn’t know how it was going to work out, because she was young,” Hald said. “But she knew my philosophy, and she knew what was expected.”
The year after her transplant, the Bulldogs reached the state final four. Though still recovering, she made it to all the games.
“I was super fragile,” she said. “I remember my doctor saying, ‘You’re not going to be able to walk.’ But getting to the final four was unreal.”
How to be an organ donor
For information on how to register to be an organ donor go to donatelifeflorida.org
Bradley coaches the Bulldogs’ JV team and assists with varsity. She enjoys being around both squads and interacting with all of the players.
“I do love coaching so much,” she said. “This program is special. I get to coach some amazing girls.”
Hald, who will be entering his 32nd season as the team's head coach, said Bradley has helped stabilize the program.
“I can concentrate on the varsity, and I know my JVs are being taken care of,” he said. I have 18 players, and she has 18. That’s comforting, because I don’t know if I could do it if I didn’t have that kind of stability with the program.”
Rising senior defender Emma Swearingen never played on the JV team, but she has developed a close relationship with Bradley.
“She’s more than an assistant coach. She’s always messaging me, She’s helping me with college stuff. ... She’s such a good coach, and such a good person.”
EMMA SWEARINGEN, FPC soccer player
“She’s more than an assistant coach,” Swearingen said. “She’s always messaging me, She’s helping me with college stuff. The JV girls love her so much. She may be tough, but they love it, because they know she’s always making them better. She’s such a good coach, and such a good person.”
Bradley’s full-time job is a job coach with the school district’s STREAM program, helping young people with disabilities transition into the workforce. In the summer, she not only works with FPC’s soccer players, she also works as a counselor with the City of Palm Coast’s Fun in the Sun camp.
Another way she gives back is speaking on behalf of Donate Life America. She has had speaking engagements all over the state, spreading awareness about organ donation.
Bradley is a big supporter of the entire Bulldogs’ athletic program. She never misses an FPC football game. Her energy seems to be endless. But every day is a struggle. Some days, it’s hard for her to get out of bed. She considered giving up coaching during the pandemic because of her autoimmune disease. Wearing a mask was nothing new to her. She's worn one for years to protect herself in crowded places.
Through it all, she's leaned on all the people who have been in her corner since she was diagnosed with liver disease at age 15. Her parents were there every step of the way, she said. Her boyfriend, FPC teacher Steve Von Glahn, has been her rock for the past 3½ years.
“I wouldn’t be alive without all the people who prayed for me and supported me,” she said. “Every day I wake up is a win. I try to stay humble and grounded and thankful every day that I was given this life. I’m so blessed.”
