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Photo by Todd Lester.
Michael Hiers (7) runs the ball during Briarwood’s Class 5A championship game against St. Paul's on Dec. 7 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Hiers, who’s been dubbed “Magic Mike,” also plays as pitcher and shortstop for the baseball team and as a forward on the Lions’ basketball team.
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Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
Michael Hiers (10) squares up to take a shot during the boys game against Gardendale on Jan. 2, during the Jefferson-Shelby Hoops Classic at McAdory High School.
Bobby Kerley saw this coming five years ago.
The Briarwood Christian School offensive coordinator and varsity basketball coach came home and told his wife about this short seventh-grader who could launch a football.
“He’s going to be something else,” Kerley told his wife.
Kerley was speaking of Michael Hiers, and his prognostication was spot on.
Hiers has starred in football, baseball and basketball in his career at Briarwood Christian School. He’s played all three sports since he was 4 years old.
He’s a quarterback in football, a pitcher and shortstop in baseball and a guard and forward in basketball. He is accustomed to the ball being in his hands.
“He wouldn’t want to play sports any other way,” Kerley said. “He can make a coach look really, really smart. He can do awesome things in whatever sport he’s playing.”
Dubbed “Magic Mike” by Kerley for his playmaking ability, Hiers has lived up to the nickname, routinely making big plays during the 2017 football season, in which Briarwood reached the Class 5A championship game.
“I like the nickname,” Hiers said. “What drives me is the fact that I like to learn from past experiences, and I hate failing.”
Hiers started at quarterback just one season for the Lions, but he made the most of it. He was named honorable mention on the Alabama Sports Writers Association All-State team after completing 179-of-260 passes for 2,672 yards and 28 touchdowns. He threw just eight interceptions, rushed for 230 yards and notched eight scores.
Hiers was the leading rebounder for Kerley’s basketball team last season and was averaging a team-high 18 points and seven rebounds through December of this season. He will also be a key cog on the baseball team this spring.
“My mindset before each game is that I am relaxed and focused on my responsibilities to help my team win,” Hiers said.
There are few high school student-athletes who can handle playing all three sports, let alone star in them. He does all that while maintaining a grade-point average above a 4.0 taking all honors and Advanced Placement classes.
Kerley said he, head football coach Fred Yancey and head baseball coach Steve Renfroe work with Hiers so that he can play all three sports. They make sure he doesn’t miss anything important in each. He will go from basketball practice to throw on the baseball field, from the football field to shoot 3-pointers in the gym. He puts in the extra hours that success requires.
“It only works if the player, his parents and the coaches are all on the same page fighting for that kid,” Kerley said. “It’s worked pretty well. He wants to make his coaches happy. He doesn’t want to let a coach down. He doesn’t want to let his teammates down. He’s just really the kind of kid you dream about coaching, wish you had more of them.”
Hiers said the busy schedule works for him, because he enjoys playing all three sports.
“Fortunately, the coaches at Briarwood work together to make it possible and make sure that I am not overextended,” Hiers said. “Also, I have had several college coaches tell me that they like multisport athletes. It has been a very fun year. I have had the opportunity to be on competitive teams and play with my close friends.”
Hiers has been an integral part of some key milestones in the last year for Briarwood. The basketball team earned a playoff berth for the first time since 2005. The baseball team in 2017 reached the No. 1 ranking in Class 5A and the second round of the state playoffs. The football team posted a 14-1 record and nearly won the Class 5A state championship.
“I hope when he looks back, he thinks, ‘Hey, everything that we did was worth it because we went through this journey together and we accomplished a whole lot,’” Kerley said.
Kerley doesn’t just hope Hiers sees it that way one day. He knows he will.
“He’ll be able to look back and tell his son someday, ‘We were pretty awesome, and the reason we were is because God gave us the gifts and we took advantage of the gifts He gave us by working as hard as we could, and we did it together,” Kerly said.
