Throughout the school year, students continue to cheer for their sports teams at games, in pep rallies, and in the occasional hallway parade. Athletics unites the student body and even brings about the occasional appearance of a food truck or two. When the Warriors are playing, it’s difficult to not get caught up in heavy strands of school spirit.

Any athletic department has a lot of moving parts and logistics. And handling these requires both skill and intense dedication. A person who has put countless, thankless hours behind the scenes of North Atlanta Athletics has been Allison Hayes, the assistant to Athletic Director Andre Regan.

For the constant succession of events, Hayes continually sacrifices and labors on behalf of North Atlanta athletics. One sport alone shows her mastery of the details. For the lacrosse team, she organizes meals for athletes after school and before games, schedules games with opposing teams, and distributes any necessary items that players may require such as jerseys. “I do anything that Mr. Regan instructs me to do and that involves a broad range of duties,” she said.

She works alone, mostly as a volunteer, in her cluttered office in the Hillside building. A visit there reveals all manner of loose equipment, food for athletes, papers, coaches’ bags, team gear, fund-raising brochures and even the occasional napping Warrior player.

Her to-do list is endless and she always has more tasks to contend with. Hayes said she does everything from scheduling games, summoning busses, buying yoga pants, ordering dinners, and spearheading game-day decorations.

“Mrs. Hayes is the most important member of the lacrosse community at North Atlanta because she helps with literally everything,” said Junior Sam McCollum.

Athletes in football, in soccer, in baseball and in any other high school sports have participated in their respective sports without any delays or setbacks. Many athletics participants see Hayes as an organizing force behind it all. “I just care so much about the kids’ athletics and the experiences they will have in high school,” said Hayes.

Whether the Warriors win or lose, there has to be a detail-oriented person who helps with all necessary logistics. And as the right-hand woman to Athletic Director Regan, Hayes sweats the details so North Atlanta athletes make it to their games. Thankful Warrior athletes and their fans would do well to say the following to such a dedicated volunteer: “Thank you, Ms. Hayes!”