Opposing midfielders, goalkeepers or defenders were never her primary concern.

Living was.

For Jalyn Willis, having a healthy heart has always been priority No. 1.

“Everything in my heart is structurally fine,” Willis said, “but it just shorts out and beats too fast and doesn’t know how to slow down. My heart rate is usually about 60 (beats per minute) and it’ll jump to 220.”

Willis had supraventricular tachycardia, which is a rhythm disorder in the upper chambers of the heart. And like most others, Willis was diagnosed with the condition during her teenage years.

That’s when the surgeries started.

“I had ablation for my SVT,” Willis said of the procedure, which helps correct rhythm problems in the heart. “It was my fourth one.”

Willis discovered her condition when she was 14 and about to enter her freshman year at Keys High School. That didn’t keep her from playing soccer.

“I played my freshman, sophomore and junior year pretty solid,” Willis said. “My junior year was the only year I was ever able to play without any problems, because my second heart surgery worked.”

Immediately following her junior campaign, the same problem arose and it was back to the operating room.

Two more surgeries later, Willis was primed to return for her senior season. But it was a long comeback trail.

“I actually had my surgery April 9, which was the start of districts,” Willis recalled. “I’m just now getting to where I can do everything.”

During limited action her senior year, Willis scored one goal and helped the Lady Cougars to a 6-4 season. That one goal — coupled with 19 others during her varsity career — aided her in landing a spot in this year’s Class 4A All-State game. Willis, along with teammate, Ashtin Dudley, will represent Keys on the East team on Thursday at Stillwater High School.

“Since I had surgery and didn’t play a whole lot this year, I really wasn’t expecting anything,” Willis said. “I just put my paper in, just because, as a senior. And then, I was astounded — like, shocked.”

Willis and Dudley aren’t just All-State soccer selections from Keys. They are, in fact, the first-ever soccer players to earn All-State honors at Keys.

“I’m just excited to have our first-ever All-Staters here,” said Keys coach Jackie Willis, Jalyn’s dad. “...They’re the ones I started with, so I’m excited for them.”

Jackie Willis established the Keys soccer program four years ago and the only player with any extended soccer background was Jalyn.

“Jalyn was the only one that had played really when we started,” Jackie Willis said. “We got an eighth-grade team into a (recreational) league, and then as a freshman team, we went to the board (of education) and got it approved and added it. And it’s grown from there.”

As Jalyn’s dad, Jackie Willis said he couldn’t be more pleased to see his daughter pick up a honor that she fought so hard for over the past four years.

“With the four heart surgeries in the past three years — plus, having a gallbladder surgery in there, also — it’s amazing what she’s overcome,” he said. “I’m very proud of what she has become.”



Q&A: Jalyn Willis, Keys sweeper/midfielder

Keys’ Jalyn Willis picked up All-State soccer honors, joining fellow teammate, Ashtin Dudley, as the first two players to do so in program history. Willis scored 20 career goals to pick up the honor. But there’s more to her story. Willis has overcome four heart surgeries to repair supraventricular tachycardia, which is a rhythm disorder in the upper chambers of the heart. Oh, and she also had gallbladder surgery along the way. All that before she even graduated from high school.



What’s it like having your dad (Jackie Willis) as your varsity coach?

He’s been my coach since I was walking. People are always like, ‘well, you’re the coach’s kid.’ But people don’t realize I get 10 times as much stuff put on me. I feel like it was a lot more pressure than what people realized.

Is the All-State soccer game going to be your last soccer game or will it be something you continue to play recreational-wise?

I’ll probably play it for fun. But it’s not going to be anything I play in college. I’m going to Connors (State College) to start their nursing program and so my time will be consumed.

You said you’re wanting to get into nursing. Any specific kind of medical field that you want to get into?

I’d really like to go into pediatric cardio. That’s what my nurses were, and they were amazing at OU when they were doing my surgeries.

How were your surgeries different than most surgeries?

Mine were awake. They went in through my groin, and they would do 12 catheters. The surgeries were anywhere from 7 1/2 hours and my longest one was 12. You just have to lay there and they strap you down. The nurses, though, would come and talk to me and talk me through the pain, because it felt like razor blades were cutting you.

Now, are you a big fan of medical shows?

Yeah, because I’ll watch and say, ‘I’ve had that done to me.’ I like to watch them because I think they’re interesting.

What’s something you’re going to miss the most about Keys?

Just the close-knit community. It’s small enough to where everyone knows everyone. Everyone gets along pretty well.