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Stevenson's Hart does what he does to make Mom happy

For Senior Night, Isaiah Hart is predicting tears. And a lot of them.

The Stevenson senior defensive back will be honored along with his classmates on Oct. 19 when the Patriots host Lake Forest. He will be accompanied for the on-field ceremony by his mother Beth and his childhood mentor, Coach Jack.

"That is going to mean the world to me, to have them with me for Senior Night," said Hart, who played many years of travel baseball for Coach Jack, a father figure in his life. "I know I will be very emotional. I'm hoping I won't cry, but I'm thinking I probably will."

Mom Beth was touched when she heard what her son expected from Senior Night.

"Awww, he said that?" Beth said of the predicted crying. "I was going to say that I'm probably going to cry too.

"It's amazing that child is not of my blood. We have so many similarities like that."

Isaiah Hart is adopted. And so are all three of his siblings, who are all from different families and were all adopted by Beth as infants or toddlers.

Not a day goes by in which Hart doesn't think about how amazing his Mother is for completely changing the trajectory of his and his siblings' lives.

"I think my Mom is an angel," Hart said of Beth. "Everything I do, I just want to make my Mom happy. I've never seen anyone work as hard as she does. She works so hard for her kids. It makes me so happy that I have an amazing person like that to call my Mother. I just want to show her every single day that I am beyond grateful for everything she has done for me."

Beth, a longtime social worker, is a single mother who began her career assisting children stuck in the system. She worked with a company that subcontracted with the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). In fact, she heard about her first child, daughter Bianca, when she was in court for work.

Bianca was about 2 years old at the time.

"People were saying that we needed to find a home for this child and someone asked me if I knew of anyone who could take her in," Beth said. "And I was like, 'Well ... me.'"

Years later, Beth then adopted Isaiah when he was two weeks old. Younger siblings Michael, now a freshman at Stevenson, and sister Desi, who is 11, were also adopted at a very young age.

Beth works in Joliet now, but instead of moving closer to her job, she commutes back and forth there each day in order to keep her kids in a highly desirable school district like Stevenson.

"It's not like I said, 'I'm going to save all these kids,' " Beth said. "This is just the way I chose to put my family together. But, it does make me feel good that my kids have had many opportunities. We're not rich and we struggle to get by sometimes, but they are probably in a better situation than they would have been in.

"Take Isaiah. I look at him and I wonder would his (athletic) potential have been realized if he had been in a different situation? He has done very well, probably better than he would have, and I hate to say that because I don't know that for sure.

"But chances are, it's probably true and that's beautiful to me. I feel really great about that."

Isaiah Hart first started showing promise in sports at a young age. Older sister Bianca has autism, but was active and swam and played basketball and inspired Isaiah to try just about every sport imaginable. She even taught Isaiah how to throw a baseball. The two played catch often.

"I just always wanted to hang out with my sister, so that's how I got into sports," Isaiah said. "And I always thank her for teaching me about sports, especially baseball."

Hart has come a long way in football over his high school career. He gave it a try as a freshman, did not come back out as a sophomore, returned last year to be a backup defensive back and then worked to earn a starting spot this year. His best game this season came against Libertyville when he snagged his first career interception.

But baseball, the sport his sister taught him years ago, has turned out to be his big sport.

Hart, an outfielder, has played years of travel baseball and is getting looks from college coaches.

He also credits someone else close in his life for his baseball development: Coach Jack. Although Isaiah never had a father in the house, it always felt like he had a father in Coach Jack.

"I met Coach Jack when I was 11 and I was playing on his (baseball) team," Hart said. "He's been a life changer, a father figure 110 percent. I respect him so much.

"Coach Jack would always encourage me and help me out. He took me to things, made sure I showed up where I needed to. He helped pay for things that my Mom couldn't afford.

"My Mom has been amazing with everything, but Coach Jack was like a special addition, someone who also helped me become what I am."

Isaiah started last year for the Stevenson baseball team in right field and will start again this year. He had the best season of his life this summer and impressed college scouts. Between baseball and football interest, he could have many college options.

"I'm not sure what will happen, but one thing I've learned from my Mom is that you can't be scared to fail, so I'm just going to work hard at whatever I get," Isaiah said. "My mom does that every day: work hard.

"I don't think I could ever do what she does with four kids by herself. I can't even process it. It's not easy and we definitely face some adversity in our family. But this is my life and I couldn't ask for anything more. I have the greatest Mom in the world and I'm going to make her really happy."

pbabcock@dailyherald.com

Follow Patricia on Twitter: @babcockmcgraw

  Stevenson senior Isaiah Hart, adopted when he was two weeks old, has become a mainstay for the Patriots' defense. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson senior Isaiah Hart, adopted when he was two weeks old, has become a mainstay for the Patriots' defense. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
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