Hagan's got lots of heart
PSFCA game Friday night
By Jim Lane,
[email protected]
POSTED: June 15, 2010
Of the 68 players who will participate in the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association's 10th annual East-West All-Star Game Friday night at Mansion Park, no one has a more heart-warming story than Chad Hagan.
"He's a very unique story because he's overcome so much," his high school coach, Guy Montecalvo of Canon-McMillan, said.
The 18-year-old Hagan has had four heart procedures, and was once told he may never be able to play football again. But, he's persevered through it all and will be in the West's defensive backfield at safety Friday.
"The way he's handled himself is incredible," Montecalvo said. "The courage he's shown ... the attitude and discipline."
Hagan said his heart condition - Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome - was discovered during a pre-op test.
"I had a leg injury - a stress fracture in my tibia - and when I went to have it taken care of, they discovered my heart problem," Hagan said.
Because his heart rate was abnormal, the procedure on his leg was stopped, which led to a battery of cardio vascular tests.
That was in April of 2009, near the end of his junior year at Canon-Mac. It was life-changing and life-threatening, but it didn't stop the personable Hagan from returning to the football field when he was given the OK.
"It causes the heart rhythm to speed up," Hagan said of his condition. "They said I could have died. Now I'm on medicine that controls my heartbeat."
"We're just thankful the condition was identified," Montecalvo said.
Hagan was unable to do anything athletically from April to August of 2009 and he could not play the first three games of his senior football season.
"When he came back, he wasn't the same," Montecalvo said. "But, he had been shut down [athletically] for four months. Because he couldn't train or practice, he gained weight, and didn't have the quickness, speed or agility that he had in the past.
"He still contributed, but it was a devastating senior year for him."
Hagan started at running back and outside linebacker as freshman - a rarity at a Class AAAA school. He started at running back and safety his last two seasons at Canon-Mac and earned second team all-state honors as a safety on the Pennsylvania Football News Team. He won WPIAL All-Great Southern Conference honors two years and was named to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Pre-Season Fab 22.
"Basketball is actually my favorite sport, my first love," Hagan said. "I played the first two games my senior year, but had a recurrence of the heart problem and missed most of the season."
After a couple more heart procedures, Hagan returned for the final game of the regular-season and then scored 23 points against North Allegheny in the WPIAL playoffs.
Because Hagan was so outstanding as a junior, several colleges were interested in him. He chose Ohio State after considering Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Syracuse and Toledo.
"Ohio State stuck by him through everything," Montecalvo said. "They were going to honor his scholarship whether he could have played or not. Thank God, he can play again."
Hagan, who plans to major in communications, was impressed when he visited the Buckeyes.
"Coach Jim Tressel, the whole staff and the players made me feel like I was part of them," he said. "[Ohio State] has a real religious background and I'll get a great education, so it felt like home to me."
Hagan said Penn State was involved in his recruiting, but dropped off when other schools began to show more interest.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Hagan expects to play safety for the Buckeyes, but noted he could move to linebacker if he gets bigger.
Hagan's teammate and best friend, Mike Hall, is going to Penn State and that's created some friendly conversations between the two.
"We joke around a lot," Hagan said. "I tell him Ohio State is better and we're going to crush them. He says Penn State will kill us.
"It's a lot of fun."
Before reporting to Altoona for the PSFCA game, Hagan did an extensive speed program with Montecalvo, who also coaches track, for three weeks.
"He's starting to regain some of that conditioning," Montecalvo said. "He ran the 40 [yard dash] in under 4.4 before his problems. In fact, he ran the fastest time at the Scout.com Camp."
If he regains his past form, Hagan has the potential to be an outstanding college player, the coach said.
"He's such a great kid," Montecalvo said. "You should read his poetry. He's got great writing skills.
"I just love him like he's my own."
