NOTEBOOK
The conversation Stacy Sykora
One of the great liberos in USA history, she has made an amazing comeback from a scary bus accident last year and
A
hopes to play in her fourth Olympics this summer in London. year ago – specifi cally
, April 12, 2011 – USA libero Stacy
exas, has put in countless hours of rehab to regain cognitive and sight functions that were affected by the accident, including depth perception and peripheral vision. There have been good days and not-so-good days – earlier this year, she missed time on the volleyball court because of migraines. But she’s back in Brazil with V
olei Futuro and play-
ing well, and she says she’s feeling great. In fact, she says the biggest difference between pre-accident Stacy and Stacy 2012 is that her long hair hasn’t fully grown back. On a recent evening, Sykora,
34, fi elded questions via Skype from Brazil, where V
olei Futuro
was about to begin the playoffs. She started the conversation by talk- ing enthusiastically about how she’d just put icing on a batch of cookies that she’d baked for her teammates. A few minutes later, the good-natured spirit that has always made her a fan favorite surfaced again when she was asked what date she had returned to Brazil last fall. Her answer: “I don’t remember the date, but I know it was the end of October because I brought a lot of Halloween candy here.”
VolleyballUSA: It’s been nearly a year since your accident. How does it feel to be back on the court with your Brazil club team?
Sykora: Every day is like a gift for me. I
don’t let 24 hours pass by without living 24 hours. I’ve had some ups and downs, but I’m trying to look at the ups and stay positive. Am I 100 percent? No. But I’m getting there. Do I do some negative things that I’d never done in my life on the volleyball court? Yes. And it surprises me. But I just keeping think- ing, ‘Next ball. Next ball.’
After the accident, you had problems with the volleyball disappearing in your peripheral vision, which made it diffi cult to make certain plays. Is that improving?
I remember practicing, and if the ball was going to my right, I wouldn’t see it. I would get aced. I would hear the ball get served, but I wouldn’t know where it was going. And
FIGHTING SPIRIT: Stacy Sykora is recovering from a bus accident.
that happened a few times here in Brazil. And when I was driving, cars would come (on my right side) and I wouldn’t see them until the last minute. But now, I can see things on my right side again, and I don’t lose the ball. I still lose the ball sometimes when it hits the block. It’s not like it was (before the acci- dent) where I would have my eye on the ball 100 percent of the time. But out of 100 balls, I’ll see 98 perfectly.
Do you expect to eventually get back to 100
percent or is that unrealistic? I’m not even looking at it that way. I’m giving 100 percent of what I have. You see players after two ACL blowouts in their knees and an ankle injury, and they’re still playing in the Olympics and they’re not complaining – they’re playing with what they have. And I feel like that’s where I’m at. I don’t have to see 100 percent like I used to. That was the past. I’m giving 100 percent of what I got.
You were playing the best volleyball of your life before the accident.
I was. I was passing 100 percent multiple times, and I had never done that. It just felt natural, and everything was going so well. So I always just say, ‘I feel great now.’ How I played in the past is the past.
12 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at
usavolleyball.org/mag
olei Futuro. Since then, the three-time Olympian from Burleson, T
Sykora suffered serious head injuries in a bus accident in Brazil while riding with her professional club team, V
Aren’t there some times when you get frustrated and think, ‘If only this hadn’t happened?’
It’s so crazy – I can honestly say with all of my heart, I have never, ever said that. Everything happens for a reason, and I’ve said that all of my life. And I really think it was a positive. Maybe it happened so someone on my team like Kristin Richards or Dani- elle Scott-Arruda or Destinee Hooker would rethink how important volleyball is to her.
I feel like I had a positive infl uence on a lot of people. Nothing negative has ever happened to me – this is the fi rst thing. And I feel blessed. I didn’t lose a leg or my teeth. The only thing is that my hair has to grow back out. Gosh, you know how many people die from the kind of accident I had? Or have lost limbs? So I’ve never said, ‘What if?’ That’s a fantasy world, and I live in a reality world. And even before the accident, I never took a day for granted. When I sign my name, I always write, ‘Keep dreaming. No excuses, no regrets.’ And I live by that.
You’ll fi nish your club season in Brazil, then
return to the USA gym in April and try to make the Olympic team, right?
Yeah. I can’t wait to get back in the USA gym. Everyone in the world wants to be on the Olympic team, and there are 12 spots, so it’s going to be a tough fi ght. And we have great liberos. I just want this USA team to win a gold medal, and if I’m part of that team, that’s wonderful. If I’m not one of the 12, I’m still on the USA team and my heart and soul is on this team.
You’ve traveled and played all over the world, but would you say you’re still a Texas girl at heart?
In my house (in Brazil), I have a USA
fl ag and a Texas fl ag on the wall. I am 100 percent Texan and will always be 100 percent Texan. And I will always be 100 percent American. You can take me out of Texas, but you can’t take Texas out of me.
So you still refer to your fans as ‘y’all?’ I just wrote ‘y’all’ today to a Swedish person, and I was thinking, ‘I hope she understands that.’ I have a problem with it. I think I say it a little too much. (Laughs). But I’m a Texan.
PHOTO: FIVB
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