The following story is the latest in a spotlight series of SWOSU student-athletes from the Weatherford Daily News and was published in the newspaper on February 23rd.
 
 
SWOSU athlete Hayden Priddy, of Piedmont, has memories of playing basketball as early as 4 years old.
 
Priddy, now 22, remembers shooting and playing when she was 4 years old with the girls team her mom coached at Latta High School.
 
"Obviously, I wasn't actually a part of the team, but you couldn't have convinced me of that," Priddy said.
 
As an incoming SWOSU athlete, she said her transition was easier than most, thanks to her parents, who were both college athletes, helping her deal with the "ups and downs" of her freshman year.  Her initial goals for her time at SWOSU were to be on the floor and play.
 
"As far as accomplishing goals go, I have been beyond blessed to have accomplished the goals that my team and I have accomplished," she said.
 
Priddy considers herself a very superstitious person and has several habits and routines for game days. One thing she always does before each game is to make eye contact with any family members in the crowd and wave at them.
 
"I wouldn't say I get nervous before games, but I do get butterflies before every game," Priddy said. "But, they're more 'excited butterflies' and not 'nervous butterflies.'"
 
According to Priddy, her greatest strength is her composure when she's on the floor. She claims to have "a lot to work on" when it comes to weaknesses on the court, but says reaching and trying to block shots on defense have gotten her in some unnecessary foul trouble.
 
When asked what word best describes her, Priddy said her parents have always called her noisy.
 
"I am the absolute definition of a talkative person to a fault," she said. "I often find myself talking without really anything to say, I'm just making noise."
 
Priddy said her favorite quote, one she lives by in athletics and in life, is something her dad Shawn Priddy says, "If you don't like it, get better."
 
The most important thing she has learned from any of her coaches is to have a short memory. There are going to be missed shots and lost games, but she has learned what matters is how she responds to those moments and what she does from there.
 
In her time at SWOSU, Priddy said she has no regrets. Although she admits everyone has things they shouldn't have done or wish they would have done, she wouldn't change a thing about her SWOSU experience.
 
Her advice to incoming SWOSU athletes is simple, as she said, "This sounds so cliché but just embrace every minute of it, the good and the bad, because they will both come by they will both be worth it."