South Atlantic Conference record holder uses basketball and academic skills to inspire Marion County youth
OCALA, Fla. (BVM) 鈥� Emily Paffrath Hyatte shows up to Bounce N Play in Ocala, carrying a bag of basketballs mixed with educational learning materials. At 6-foot-1 with curly brown hair and a bright orange t-shirt, she’s hard to miss as she prepares for her Teams of Tomorrow (TOT) class she describes as “a basketball-based education program for preschoolers, ages 3 and up, that teaches 25 basketball ball-handling skills.”
Epitomizing the clich茅 of cool, calm and collected, Hyatte stands confidently in front of an eager preschool class as a catchy children’s song about colors plays in the background. Every student, even one running around in circles, pauses, smiles, and focuses on her ahead.
At this moment, the observers in the room realize that TOT is about more than basketball – and they couldn’t be more right. In addition to mastering 25 basketball ball-handling skills – a tall feat for 3 year olds — TOT offers a total of 36 experiences, broken down into five academic units: mixing colors, identifying shapes, counting in multiple languages, learning the five senses and letter/vowel recognition with sign language.
“It greatly interests the kids, while weaving in academics and there’s no program around for preschoolers quite like it,” Hyatte said.
Hyatte teaches the class at private schools, daycares and kid venues like Ocala’s Bounce N Play. The TOT “Superstars” also performed in Dec. 2019 during the Harlem Globetrotters pregame and Dec. 2018 at the University of Florida men’s basketball halftime show.
Being a TOT instructor makes more than sense for the multifaceted Hyatte.
“I’ve been involved with basketball since the fourth grade,” she said. “When my best friend told me to try out because I was a giant.鈥�
From there, the once aspiring dancer went on to play at Mitchell High School in North Carolina from 1999-2003, winning a state championship in 2002 and 2003 and lettering her freshman through senior years in four sports: basketball, volleyball, soccer and track. She returned to coach the Mitchell Mountaineers girls basketball team from 2012-16.
After high school, Hyatte stayed in state attending NCAA Division II Wingate University from 2003-08. She earned her bachelor鈥檚 degree in elementary education and played basketball and volleyball for the Bulldogs. There she raked in numerous awards from the South Athletic Conference (SAC) in basketball, including Freshman of the Year in 2004, All-Conference twice, and her team won the SAC all four years. In 2007, she notched the SAC record for blocked shots in a career with 327 – a record she holds to this day. It remains one of the top shot-blocking records in the nation being in the top 10 for all women’s basketball divisions.
Hyatte then attended Carson-Newman University in Jefferson, Tenn., from 2008-10, where she received her master’s in curriculum instruction and went on to become the graduate assistant coach from 2012-15. It was there, Hyatte met her husband, Zach Hyatte, who played on the men’s basketball team and now they鈥檝e been together for eight years. Zach joined the National Guard in 2012, in which he still serves. The couple moved to Ocala in 2016 and now have two daughters, Arabella, 4, and Calista, 1.
Before taking on TOT in 2018, Emily rocked the education realm in both North Carolina and Florida. A versatile teacher, she has taught kindergarten, second, third, and fifth grade, and acted as a behavioral support liaison and curriculum coordinator.
Emily also headed the daycare at the Ocala West United Methodist Church, where she recently became the interim head of family ministries.
“Through the program I plan to keep growing my own and my children’s faith and hopefully pass it on to other people,鈥� Emily said.
This busy lady also teaches P.E. at GraceWay Academy, and she’s gearing up to expand her TOTs program to kindergarten through fifth grade. In addition to all this, Emily is DCF background checked and CPR certified.
To label Emily Hyatte as a talented individual would be an understatement primarily because she’s utilized her academic and athletic success to do so much good for the community in such a modest fashion, all while raising two magnificent girls under the age of 5.
She embodies the words of her favorite athlete Michael Jordan: “The victorious performance itself is merely a demonstration of their championship character.” Ocala is fortunate to have this victorious, caring individual mentoring Marion County youth on and off the court.
