Coming back to a sport after giving in to injuries is no easy accomplishment. Be it by sheer healing, advanced technology, doctor's approval, or quintessential love of the game, athletes can return and perform again.
Ball State University's women's volleyball team has such an athlete in 5th year senior Stephanie Bacan, who will be debuting against Wright State tonight.
Bacan, who grew up in Iowa, was a volleyball player from the very beginning.-á
"I lived in Iowa really close to Nebraska," Bacan said. "So I went to volleyball camps in Nebraska every year."
Coming from a small school, Bacan's options seemed limited when it came time to choose a college where she could play. But with her connections through playing and through camps, her name got out and before long her career as a Cardinal was set.
"I went to a really small high school," Bacan said. "We didn't have a very good volleyball program and it was really cool how I got to Ball State."
According to Bacan, Nebraska University assistant volleyball coach Craig Skinner, who used to play at Ball State, knew women's volleyball head coach Randy Litchfield well.
"When I went to [Nebraska] Skinner didn't have anything to offer me.-áThey had their recruits lined up already. So he said 'hey, there's this girl here she goes to our camps' so Randy took his advice and the rest is history."
THE INJURYAfter arriving at Ball State, Bacan's career seemed very promising at the attacker position. The first game of the very first match of the season Bacan landed wrong on her knee and was out for the year. Just like that, the promising future of a young collegiate athlete seemed suddenly distant. Bacan had suffered knee injuries in her high school years, and had even had reconstructive surgery on both knees.
But nothing like this had happened before.
"I had ACL reconstructions on both knees in high school," Bacan said. "When I got hurt the first time in college it was kind of a freak accident that happened and really took me back my freshman year."
After that incident, Bacan was out for the remainder of her freshman year as she recovered from surgery, and had hopes of playing her sophomore year. During the beginning of her sophomore year, however, the same thing happened and she was again sidelined for the rest of the season. At this point she was faced with difficult decisions
"Doctors told me I had to quit," Bacan said.
She was also told that if she continued to play her bone could go 'dead.'
After receiving several conflicting opinions as to her status and condition, Bacan, her family, and coach Litchfield went to an orthopedic doctor in Minneapolis for a final opinion.
The conclusion was that she could continue to play only if she would transition to the back row and become a defensive player. She also would have to wear a newly patented brace that takes pressure off of the knee upon impact. "My junior year I did lots of rehab work and they did lots of strengthening exercises," Bacan said. "What they discovered was that I don't have any cartilage left and so my bones were rubbing and there wasn't a whole lot we could do. On top of the six injections I got for pain the only thing to do was to pop pain pills."
COACHING AND INTERNINGOver the summer Bacan had a chance to intern with the Association of Volleyball Professionals tour, where she continued her leadership roles and gained coaching experience.
"She was an intern with the AVP," Litchfield said.-á"I think essentially she helped the organization of huge professional events and tournaments."
During her college tenure she has also been a club coach at the middle school level at local Delta Junior High for three years.
This led to a unique opportunity for Bacan as she is a fifth-year senior this year. She applied to be a graduate assistant. During this time she stayed involved as an assistant for the volleyball team.
"It's always real neat to have a recent grad stay involved," Litchfield said. "They offer such a neat perspective to the team. They are able to see things from varying points of view, staff, and player. They can act as a conduit and I think it really helps with communication."
Bacan saw this as a chance to expand on her previous leadership roles and coaching experiences. She came to practices and went to a majority of the games, in a role that was in-between the coaches and players.-á-á
"I'm in graduate school right now," Bacan said. "I decided that if I came in and helped out with practice, it would help me see what coaching at this level was like and help out with some administrative stuff. The course is PEP 600, almost like a mini-internship and I get three credits for it, too."
BACK IN ACTIONBefore the coaching staff knew what hit them, the team found itself on the losing side of .500 and in desperate need of answers. After shaking the line-up around and getting a new transfer (who will be eligible next season), there was still a missing piece.
"It kind of hit us all at the same time," Litchfield said. "'She could still play.' I think if she would've known that, she would have stayed in the program and played one more year. It was also debatable, could her knee handle last winter and spring in two a days. Her first year was a medical red-shirt, and now she's sitting here with her red-shirt year still available."
So here we have Bacan, a mere month into the season, starting practice (with her brace), and a sense of invigoration that the Cardinals may have been lacking.
"I think it's very much needed," senior Kelly Cochran said, "especially since we have a young team. Just her experience will help, especially coming up on the MAC season. She was a big asset before so were looking forward to it."
Litchfield put it in a different way when he described Bacan's asset as stability, which will calm down the Cardinals and allow them to get over the hump of mediocracy.
"Our biggest weakness is late-game performance," Litchfield said. "You have a choice at a freshman in late games or a fifth year senior in late games. Pressure is for veterans, and this will give Steph a chance to get out there in the heat of battle. She's got to be a little rusty, and it would be ridiculous to expect big matches from the start, but we look to her for stability and enjoyment that can be injected into the rest of the team."
This "injection" must happen immediately if the Cardinals hope to slice the slump they've been experiencing. With another floor general playing, it might give the Cardinals an advantage in the close matches.
"We have shown signs of improvement," Litchfield said. "I think Bacan, with all that experience under her belt, will help us improve a lot in late games. It's just a better make up for us; it will take some of the pressure off of those that shouldn't be under it yet." -á
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