When the high school season wrapped up, Addie Hale thought her soccer career ended with it.

The Warren Central senior defender enjoyed the game, but was planning to try out for the cheerleading squad at Hinds Community College instead of the soccer team. A growing desire to keep playing soccer changed those plans, and she flip-flopped the tryouts.

It was a good move.

Hale impressed Hinds’ coaches enough to earn a scholarship, and last week signed to play at the two-year junior college in Raymond.

“I’ve played soccer since I was little and I just wasn’t ready to give it up after we played our last high school game. I didn’t want to give up on the sport I love, so I decided to try out,” Hale said. “I planned to stop playing soccer after high school, but then when I played my last game I felt like I couldn’t just stop. I had to keep going.”

Hale’s signing marks a clean sweep for Warren Central’s senior class. All four seniors from this year’s team have signed to play college soccer. Along with Hale, Layken Stockstill (North Georgia), Laney Smith (Holmes Community College) and Emily Powers (Hinds) have also signed.

“I don’t know the last time that’s happened. To have all four sign, that’d excellent,” Warren Central coach Greg Head said.

Hale was a four-year starter for the Lady Vikes. She only scored two goals in her high school career — as a defender she didn’t get many chances — but Head said her work on defense was invaluable to the team’s success.

Warren Central posted 10 shutouts this season and won its first region championship in more than a decade.

“She’s so fast and so quick. She’s relentless. She stays with her player,” Head said. “It’s like a gnat. You’re swatting at it and it drives you crazy because it just won’t leave. That’s the way she plays defense. She’s all over.”

Hale said that’s just the way she knows how to play — relentlessly, and by using effort to overcome mistakes.

“I just try to do my best every time,” Hale said. “Not give up. Even if I make mistakes, I try to fix it the next go-around.”