ORMOND BEACH, Fla — For Hailey Bruce, sports have been a part of her life for as long as she can remember.

Unfortunately, in the last couple of years, Hailey and her family have had to deal with unforeseen circumstances. But Hailey playing four different sports in high school has been a welcomed distraction to her and her family to get away from their troubles.

Hailey attends Father Lopez Catholic High School in Daytona Beach. She competes in volleyball, softball, track and field and weightlifting. When she is playing, her focus is on doing well in the game.

"I’m pretty excited and I hope we win. I’m not really nervous ever, it’s more of an excitement feeling to play," said Hailey.

Hailey’s joy from competition has helped with issues off it. The last couple of years hasn’t been easy for her family.

"We’ve had a lot of health problems lately," said Hailey.

In early 2020, in Hailey’s freshman year at Riverbend Academy, her dad John was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

"It was devastating to our family." said Janet Bruce, Hailey's mom.

"It was a little hard at first because I left my other school and stayed at home while my dad went to work and I would help him over there," said Hailey. "You kind of used to it like how to help him but you don’t get used to the idea your dad can’t walk."

John attends Hailey’s games when he can but his condition doesn’t make it any easier for her.

"It was hard because you are being a crutch for someone and you don’t know how to do it, you can’t learn that, you just have to do it and if you don’t do it right it is stressful," said Hailey.

Later that year Janet took a job at father Lopez to become the JV girl’s volleyball coach going into Hailey's sophomore year.

"When I got the job here I decided I wanted her to be back in the high school setting, so we were able to get her to come to Lopez," said Janet. "She was playing on the varsity as a sophomore she quickly became one of the best blockers."

Going into Hailey’s junior year, Janet was promoted to varsity coach after the previous varsity coach went on maternity leave. Shortly thereafter, the Bruce family was dealt with another medical emergency. 

"I found out I had breast cancer. I was diagnosed in June 2021," said Janet. "I was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer."

"I didn’t believe it at first, I was like are you sure and it was hard to process," said Hailey.

So Janet had to decide whether to continue with her job push forward with the children or focus on her treatments.

"I chose to continue with my job and continue working with the kids," said Janet. "Apparently triple-negative is the hardest breast cancer to cure and they do put you on the strongest chemo medicine but I was here no matter what. It basically saved my life to coach these girls."

"Whenever I didn’t have practice or a game all you are thinking about is the cancer and all you are going through because you don’t have the distraction of being around the girls and the action." said Janet.

Last year’s team motto was 'fight like a girl,' a saying that is close to Janet’s heart.

"It means we push through no matter what, we don’t give up even if we are faced with death, we are still keep pushing," said Janet.

"It means a lot," said Hailey. "I have always had her there on the sidelines and she is still here."

The love of sports has helped Hailey and her family deal with their health difficulties.

"It’s always been a way to get out of things in my head," said Hailey. "I do work harder in most things now because I want to prove myself to my family that I am getting better even though things have been hard."