Sitting in a hospital bed nearly one year ago with a shattered femur and broken ankle after slamming into a tree head-on, Macie Hair had one predominant thought on her mind — get back on the softball diamond.
Hair was set to be Texas State University’s lead catcher after a standout 2009 season at Vista Ridge, but when she lost control of her car and hit a tree near the corner of Parmer and FM 1431 on June 27, 2009, doctors and coaches alike believed she should red shirt her freshman season as she recovered.
Hair, now equipped with a metal rod inside her right leg and four total screws (two in her ankle), would hear none of it.
“I kept telling them I am going to play this year and they were like, ‘OK crazy person,’” said Hair, a Leander native. “Nobody believed me, but I was pretty determined to play. Proving people wrong is what drove me pretty much.”
The crash came as Hair was driving home from work and lost the tread on one of her tires, sending her car airborne. She slammed into a tree still going about 60 mph, and emergency crews had to cut her out of the car using the Jaws of Life. She was then life flighted by helicopter to Brackenridge Hospital in Austin. She had two surgeries in two days and the surgeon put her timeline to heal at six months, starting with teaching herself how to walk again. Hair interpreted that to mean she could be ready to play in six months, just before the start of the softball season.
“Macie is very determined, and you could see from day one of her injury she still was that way,” Vista Ridge softball coach Robin Brady said. “Once she sets her mind to something, she’s going to do it.”
Texas State softball coach Ricci Woodward, who grew up with Macie’s mother, Gina, in Carlsbad, N.M., knew Hair would want to play, but given the demands on the legs playing catcher brings, she didn’t want Hair to jeopardize her health or her career. Hair went through physical therapy and light drills but didn’t practice during the fall. Once she came back from the winter break without a limp and a lot more mobility, the team realized she actually might play.
“I thought she was going to have to red shirt and that’s what I was pushing for, but Macie wasn’t interested in red shirting,” Woodard said. “After the first weekend (in February) I thought, ‘wow, she’s going to be able to play for us and have good performance.”
Hair, 19, actually found out fast what she could handle when she held onto the ball through a collision at home plate during one of her first practices.
“I got up and it didn’t hurt and I realized I’m fine. It was a good moment knowing it was going to hurt,” Hair said.
That train of thought is a big reason Hair wound up back behind the plate this season, starting 27 games at catcher. Because she was behind the curve, Hair didn’t get many opportunites to hit during the season, but did manage an RBI double in 10 official at-bats (and four walks).
Being back behind the plate was more than enough, though, as it has been her comfort zone for more than a decade now. Gina Hair said Macie was adamant about playing catcher as an 8-year-old, preferring to be in on the action every single pitch.
“She has always been very competitive just by nature,” Gina Hair said. “She felt like everybody was doubting she would be out there and took it as a challenge.”
Macie added, “You have to be a little hardheaded to play catcher.”

As the spring season went along, Hair earned more and more playing time, eventually catching the first and third game of every series. Teammates and friends from all over came to see her in the hospital, and they were there again when Texas State came to Austin to play the University of Texas March 31.
“It’s amazing how fast she recovered, she was determined to play and I am so proud of her,” former Vista Ridge teammate and Texas-signee Taylor Thom said. “Now I always give her a hard time that I’m going to steal on her and she’s not going to throw me out. Just a little competition.”
Hair has remained humbled by the show of support that day and ever since.
“I was in and out (of sleep), but I remember so many people being in my room and there was a line out the door with people waiting to see me,” she said.
The throng of her fans in the crowd at Texas in March included her parents, Gina and Johnny, who attended nearly every home game this past season. It was the first time her former teammates and coaches got to see her back playing again, though.
“We had tears in our eyes getting to watch her play after her injury,” Brady said. “It was a really emotional thing to get to actually see her play this spring and get that closure that she’s actually OK.”
One year to the day of her accident, Hair was headed home from the exact same job going the exact same route, and she never even thought about avoiding the area or what she refers to as “my tree.”
“The bark is starting to come back in a bit, but you can still see the mark,” Hair said.
Other than the scar on her leg and the hardware inside, Hair is still standing strong as well.