JUNIOR JOURNAL
Embrace the struggle I
have enjoyed receiving your responses from the earlier articles. Thank you for taking the time to write.
Here are a few quick answers to some of your questions: • Yes, I am 5-7, but don’t remind me. I like to think I hit like I’m 6-0. • No, I don’t have two belly buttons. One
is a scar. But I’ll tell you more about that later. • Yes, I have watched the movie “Rudy.” And now I’ll address one of my favorite questions: How do you push through hard times? Have you ever found yourself stumbling because you just can’t seem to fi nd a way to push through a struggle? Finding your full potential in a drill, play, game or perhaps a personal struggle is simply part of the process. It’s about fi ghting through and get-
ting ready for what’s next. We have received many “How to” ques- tions, and before I try to offer any answers, I fi rst want to say that I am certainly no expert at the solutions. But I have had my fair share of struggles and continue to press through some pretty major ones and some minor ones. Each of us has big dreams, and we need to fi nd ways to keep pushing to fi nd our full potential. One way that I do this is by always trying to surround myself with people who will impact my life in a great way. This can be anyone. A teacher, a preacher, a coach. In my case, I’ve had two incredible doctors, a family that understands and some amazing volleyball coaches who accepted no excuses.
Wash your hands!
Several of you have asked if I have two belly buttons after seeing pictures of me in a bikini. I have a secret. Next to my belly button is a scar from several surgeries. I have kidney disease, and for me to compete and train as I want to, to fi ght for my dreams, I take the extra steps needed to stay healthy. Some of my greatest memories are at the Ronald McDonald House. At a very young age and during the many visits to the Children’s Hospital in Iowa City, Iowa, Dr. Charles Hawtrey told my parents that I would need to learn to fi ght so I could survive. Dr. Hawtrey would put me in situations where I had to stand up for myself. One of
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them was simply making sure everyone who walked into my hospital room had washed their hands. If they hadn’t, I had to fi re them from my care. I didn’t want to fi re anyone, but in the beginning of Dr. Hawtrey’s training he set me up to fail. He knew I needed to learn how to overcome feelings of disappointment, disap- proval and fear. Dr. Hawtrey brought a young intern to see me during one of my checkups. The intern didn’t wash his hands. I expected Dr. Hawtrey to be upset with the intern, but instead he scolded me for not “fi ring” him. I learned a great lesson in personal accountability at a young age. A few years later, I ended up in the hos- pital in Peoria, Ill. A very nice doctor came in to see me; he was wearing a big red nose and was very creative with all the distractions needed for young patients. I really liked this doctor, but during a visit he didn’t wash his hands. At age eight, I had to fi re him. He fi rst laughed but quickly realized I was serious. The doctor pleaded with my parents to step in, but thankfully my parents knew, as hard as it was to release this doctor, it was what I had to do.
On my next visit to Iowa City, I told Dr. Hawtrey what I had done. He simply looked at me and shook his head and told me I’d have plenty of more diffi cult decisions to make in my life. That was it. I was expecting a party, a celebration, but what I got was, “Be ready for the next one.”
Proving the doctor wrong
My freshman year in high school I started on the varsity team as an OH. We were bound for state. During warm-ups of a big match, I landed wrong from an approach jump and tore everything in my knee – my ACL exploded, both meniscus tore and my leg separated. The surgeon, Dr. John Hoffman of Orthopedic Specialist, said it was one of the worst knee injuries he had seen. It put me in a wheelchair for seven weeks and a no-weight- bearing brace for three more. Dr. Hoffman was the second opinion.
The fi rst opinion had me walking again in 18 months. I yelled through my tears at the fi rst surgeon, telling him that he didn’t know me, didn’t know my dreams, didn’t understand who I was inside. His diagnosis didn’t change. When I met with Dr. Hoffman, he listened to me, my story, saw my passion, my hunger, my drive. Dr. Hoffman told me it was going
After tangling with a serious kidney disease and battling back from major ACL surgery, our junior columnist knows a thing or two about overcoming challenges.
— by Emily Podschweit
to be a hard recovery but that he would have me training again in six months. It was more diffi cult than I had imagined, both mentally and physically.
My lessons from Dr. Hawtrey about personal accountability allowed me to talk things through with both surgeons and make an educated decision.
In six months, I was training again. I was afraid and excited to return to the court, and Dr. Hoffman, as strict and cautious as he was during the fi rst six months, would not allow me to wear a brace. I didn’t need it. It was a new knee. No room for excuses. I had to grasp hold of the mental assurance from my doctor and trainers and begin the journey to play both indoor and beach volleyball again. Saying “I can’t do it” was not an option. What is hard today will be easier tomorrow. If you ever get a chance to work with USA
Volleyball Indoor High Performance and Ali Lamberson of USA Beach Volleyball High Performance, be prepared for some of the most mentally challenging workouts you can imagine. Your success on the court is mostly men- tal. Both programs have a high intensity rate of putting you in situations where you think you can’t win. They will push you mentally and physically to show you how you can suc- ceed. It’s an amazing feeling, and I hope you all get a chance for that kind of success.
Sources of inspiration
Since we can acknowledge that the suc- cess of our playing is mostly mental, I chal- lenge you to gather as much information as you can about playing, training, coaching and teaching the game. USA Volleyball has many resources avail- able. Check out writings from coach John Kessel with free webinars and a blog. Take the IMPACT course for coaching education that is mandatory for all USAV coaches. Follow the National team players and what coach Karch Kiraly of the U.S. Women’s National Volley- ball Team looks for on his team. All of these resources have been very helpful to me, and I’m sure you can also fi nd inspiration from other resources.
Last year I watched one of the most inspi- rational documentaries I have ever seen. It was about Travis Rice, a professional snowboarder. The documentary is called “Art of Flight.” One of his fi rst quotes is, “You’ll never know your full potential until you push yourself to fi nd it.” Basically, I’ve lived my whole life on that quote. I challenge you to do the same.
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