Purple bows spring up to support EC’s Taylor Hardley

A pitcher on the El Camino varsity softball team, Hardley has legions of friends, teammates and former teammates throughout the local softball community. So, Christie McCoy, Hardley’s private coach at Premiere Softball Academy in Belmont, helped conceive of the show of solidarity through purple bows, inspired by Hardley’s favorite color.

“My heart has been very, very heavy for a week,” McCoy said.

The last time McCoy saw Hardley before her being hospitalized was Thursday, March 14 for a regular softball lesson in Belmont. McCoy said she noticed no signs of Hardley being in ill health.

“Definitely nothing at all,” McCoy said. “Totally normal teenager, giggly, funny.”

Hardley’s father David dropped her off at El Camino March 19. Later that morning, Hardley reported to the health office with a headache. An ambulance was soon dispatched to the school and Hardley was taken to the emergency room.

Hardley’s father said he has been able to communicate with her, though she is being sedated regularly as part of her treatment.

The waves her ailment sent through the county softball community were evident Tuesday. Players from four Peninsula Athletic League teams — Aragon, Burlingame, Capuchino and Woodside — as well as College of San Mateo wore purple bows in honor of her.

“This is the kid every coach would dream of having on their team,” said Gustavo Garrard, who coached Hardley in travel ball with the California Bombers based in San Mateo. “She’s got a beautiful personality, a competitive spirit … and would throw all eight games of a tournament if you asked her for it. She’s a fighter.”

El Camino has had two rainouts since Hardley was hospitalized and has yet to play a game. Head coach Manny Cotla declined to comment on the reaction of the team but said many of them have visited the hospital.

“We kind of gave the girls the week off to get their thoughts together,” Cotla said. “Some of them are going down there to see her. But we gave them the week off to get their heads straight.”

Cotla was integral last season in organizing a tribute event for former South San Francisco High School student Michela Gregory, who died Dec. 2, 2016 in the Ghost Ship fire in Oakland. At the pregame tribute April 28, 2018, it was Hardley who sang the national anthem.

David Hardley said singing is one of his daughter’s passions, as well as anything Disney. Of her affinity for softball, he added: “She loves to throw that ball.”

The purple bows have become a symbol on social media for fundraising efforts to help the Hardley family.

McCoy is at the forefront in organizing “A Day for Tay,” to be held Sunday at 1 p.m., weather permitting. The venue is to be determined. McCoy said information and updates are available at her public Facebook page. It can be searched at “Christie McCoy.” Hers is the page with the icon of a purple bow.

The event will include softball contests, such as a home run derby and a pitch-a-thon, as well as silent auctions for sports tickets and memorabilia. All proceeds are “going straight to the family,” McCoy said.

“She’s so connected through so many different avenues, through schools or friends or sports,” McCoy said. “That’s what happens to good people. You’re all connected.”