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Maybe she was kidding, but it didn’t sound like it. At some point this summer, she would make right what had gone so terribly wrong. She’d line up the hurdles and this time she’d clear all of them without incident.
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Former Black River Falls volleyball standout Brooke Stittleburg lifts weights with Jason Janke recently. Stittleburg will play volleyball for Western Illinois University this fall. Dick Riniker photo |
It’s moments like these that give a father a nervous tic. For nearly six weeks Todd watched Brooke hobble around in a protective boot. One misstep at a WIAA Division 2 regional track and field meet on May 19 resulted in Brooke spraining ligaments in her left foot.
Just like that, life changed drastically for Brooke Stittleburg, Black River Falls High School standout volleyball player and NCAA Division I recruit of Western Illinois University. She still could lift weights and do some very basic volleyball drills such as serving with her sister, Morgan.
But competitive volleyball? It simply was out of the question for the immediate future.
“Brooke is a very goal-oriented person,” Todd said. “She had goals this summer, and she hasn’t been able to meet those goals.”
So while Brooke was, and likely still is, eager to make amends for what was a frustrating day, she would listen to dad and resist temptation. She gave the protective boot, which was lying by the front door of her family’s home, a playful shake. And that’s the only contact she ever wants to have with it again.
“I’ll never take being able to work out or my health for granted,” Brooke said. “Something like this (injury) really makes you appreciate what you have.”
Playing catch-up
The photocopier in the main office at Black River Falls High School hums on the Monday morning following the Fourth of July weekend. Brooke is copying selected pages of Western Illinois’ preseason workout guide. It’s 58 pages of inspirational quotes, nutritional guidelines and workouts meant to make one’s muscles ache.
Brooke was cleared to walk without the protective boot on June 27, and she went for a run over the weekend. But this is the first day Brooke has been allowed to return to her pre-injury workout regimen, albeit at a slower pace. She got out of bed at 7:15 a.m., went for a bike ride and lifted weights for 45 minutes. She would do the workout, which included sprinting and plyometrics, designated for that day a little later.
According to Western Illinois’ workout guide, Brooke should have been entering her ninth week of preseason conditioning. But injuries like the one she had to deal with can force a change of plans in a hurry.
She remembers her trail leg clipping the final hurdle during the preliminaries of the 100-meter hurdles at the regional meet. She fell to the track and crawled to the finish line when she was unable to get up.
Brooke has had her fair share of sprained ankles over her athletic career, but the longest she ever had to sit out was a couple of days. The initial adrenaline rush that allowed her to temporarily block the pain disappeared by the time she competed in the finals and finished last.
At first Brooke was upset about not having the opportunity to earn her third consecutive trip to the state meet. But then the obvious, and scary, question popped into her head: “What about volleyball?”
“My whole summer faded away in my head,” Brooke said.
If not for her mother, Kathy, and father, Todd, Brooke admits it probably would have taken her a long time to calm down. She called Western Illinois assistant coach Steve Williams to let him know what had happened. She e-mailed both Williams and Western Illinois coach Kym McKay on a regular basis to let them know how she was doing. They in turn assured her everything would be OK. If she still was hurting and needed treatment when she arrived in Macomb, Ill., in August, she would be taken care of.
Brooke hoped that wouldn’t be necessary. Her goal was to “crank it up a notch” with her training by the end of the week. She felt good physically (“about 85 percent”), but rusty when it came to the jumping, speed and explosiveness that makes her such a quality right-side hitter.
Western Illinois was holding a preseason camp the following week, and Brooke was a little concerned. It would be the first time she would be going as close to full-tilt as her body would allow on a volleyball court since her injury. The last thing she wanted to do was make a bad first impression for her new teammates and coaches.
“The competitor in me never wants to be last,” Brooke said. “I don’t want to come in last in anything I do.”
Feeling better
It’s Monday night, and Brooke is talking via cell phone about her first day at camp. All in all, it had gone pretty well. She and her teammates had spent time on footwork and technique. They also had run — a lot.
It was the kind of day that left Brooke feeling tired and eager for the day she’s back in tiptop physical condition. Her left foot was a little sore, but she added “it’s nothing ice and ibuprofen can’t fix.”
There still were five more days of intense workouts ahead, and Western Illinois’ first practice on Aug. 11 loomed on the horizon. But it was a challenge Brooke couldn’t wait to tackle.
“I’ll be a tired girl by the end of the week, but it’s going to be fun,” she said.
Kirk Bey can be reached at (608) 791-8414, or at kbey@lacrossetribune.com
