Thatch signs with upstart Calhoun program after journey back from torn ACL

Published 2:30 pm Monday, May 2, 2022

It has been a journey and a process for Taylor Thatch, who tore her ACL during her junior season, but prevailed into becoming the first signee for the up and coming Calhoun women’s basketball program.

“A lot of you may know I tore my ACL, and I thought that was going to be the end of my career,” Thatch said to the audience. “I would like to thank God for giving me another opportunity to play ball. I would also like to thank my parents and my sisters for pushing me to be the best.”

She signed with the program on Friday, April 29, from the gym lobby of East Limestone High School.

Thatch, by her own admission, was originally discouraged by her knee injury her junior season, but her own will-power, family, coaches and teammates helped her get through the tough times to where she is today: Being the first signee of the upstart Calhoun women’s basketball program.

East Limestone girls basketball coach Jessica Thompson, along with new Calhoun women’s basketball coach Candace Byrd-Vinson were full of compliments over Thatch’s resilience, never giving up when others might have.

“She has had a lot of adversity with (her injury). She did not play her junior year, then coming in her senior year, I come in on a coaching change, and it was a lot for her to balance out. At the beginning of the year it took a little bit to get to know each other, but about a month into it, Taylor was like another coach on the floor,” Thompson said. “She makes sure that the girls stay in line. She wanted to make sure she was being that leader and making sure she was holding everybody accountable every single day.”

In attendance was Calhoun’s new head coach of the women’s basketball team: Limestone County’s own Byrd-Vinson, a native of Tanner.

It was a special moment for player and coach, as Thatch became the first individual to sign with Byrd-Vinson’s new program.

She called Thatch a “good person” with a “high basketball IQ.”

While she is certainly open to the idea of bringing in players from elsewhere, Byrd-Vinson says it was nice for her to sign a local player to her program as the first signee of what she believes will be a resurgence of a program that has been dormant for 20-plus years.

“We have such great local talent here,” Byrd-Vinson said, who is in the market for additional local players interested in joining the Lady Warhawks. “It is only right to give them a shot.”

Additionally, Thatch and Byrd-Vinson have a bond over a shared experience: Battling back from an ACL injury.

Byrd-Vinson tore her ACL in college, and understands what Thatch went through, also admiring her effort to battle through it.

“I understand the process,” she said. “I understand how it can be, not just physically, but mentally.”

The signing of Thatch to the program is what Byrd-Vinson hopes will be a continuation of signings with local players, as there will be an additional signing in around a week and a half, with another signing in the works as well, according to Byrd-Vinson.

For her, the implementation of the women’s basketball program is going to come with hard work in order to make her vision a reality, but she is determined.

“I have a vision and I will do whatever it takes to make it happen,” she said. “I work to not be out-worked.”

Thatch may also have some new teammates soon, as Byrd-Vinson and the women’s basketball program are hosting tryouts for interested individuals on Saturday, May 7, from the Calhoun gymnasium at the Decatur Campus, with doors opening at 9 a.m. with tryouts going from 10 a.m. to noon. 

Byrd-Vinson is well-known in Limestone County for her basketball aptitude, being an All-County selection five times and an All-State selection four times, according to a press release from Calhoun Community College.

She averaged over 21 points and 14 rebounds per game.

Now, she is dedicating her time to improving the lives on and off the court for players such as Thatch, who is looking to elevate her game even further while also elevating her preparedness for life in the classroom.

Information on further Calhoun basketball signings will be provided as they happen.