Photo by James Nicholas.
Mountain Brook quarterback Hamp Sisson (10) looks to throw during a game against Huffman on Oct. 27 at Viking Stadium in Birmingham. Sisson was named the Larry D. Striplin Jr. Scholar-Athlete of the Year in early April as a result, beating out 51 other regional winners for the overall award at the Bryant-Jordan Student-Athlete awards banquet.
Hamp Sisson tends to stand out above the rest. Even among 104 well rounded student-athletes, his accolades jump off the page.
Sisson was named the Larry D. Striplin Jr. Scholar-Athlete of the Year in early April as a result, beating out 51 other regional winners for the overall award at the Bryant-Jordan Student-Athlete awards banquet.
The program, named in honor of the late coaches Paul “Bear” Bryant of Alabama and Ralph “Shug” Jordan of Auburn, recognized 52 regional scholar-athlete winners, selected for their excellence in athletics and academics, and 52 achievement winners, chosen for their ability to overcome major obstacles during their high school careers.
Cody Argo from Reeltown received the Ken and Betty Joy Blankenship Student Achievement Athlete of the Year award.
“First of all, it’s a huge honor because it’s named after two legends in the coaching world,” said Sisson, Mountain Brook’s starting quarterback each of the last two years. “That was just a huge honor because of the names, but also there were so many qualified candidates.”
Sisson played football, basketball, baseball and ran track during his time at Mountain Brook. Aside from his athletic prowess, he also scored 35 on the ACT, held a 4.47 GPA and worked with Relay for Life and Raise MB organizations, among other things. He interned with Bigtime Ministries last school year, too.
“He seeks out the best in people and he brings out the best in them for the good of the team,” Mountain Brook principal Amanda Hood said. “Our school is better because Hamp was here.”
Sisson said the highlight of his tenure at Mountain Brook came from his days on the football team, particularly following his sophomore year. After enduring back-to-back 3-7 seasons, the rising juniors and seniors came together with a mission to change the direction of the program.
“We took a leadership role, the juniors and seniors did, and we transformed the way people thought about Mountain Brook football,” Sisson said.
The Spartans did turn it around, making the playoffs each of the last two seasons with Sisson at the helm of the offense.
“This last season didn’t end how we wanted, but we still set the standard for the future and how Mountain Brook football would be in the future,” he said.
Mountain Brook head football coach Chris Yeager was most impressed not in Sisson’s arm strength or mobility, but in how he treated others.
Yeager said, “He is the best young person I have ever met at seeing the needs of people and also seeing the best in them at the same time.”
Sisson will play college football at Furman University in South Carolina. He reports to school July 8.
“It’s weird because I’ve always been having two practices a day for basketball and football in the summer,” he said. “It’s weird to not be involved in either of those things [at Mountain Brook anymore].”
While Sisson does not yet know what education path he will pursue, he said he is interested in math, science and politics.
