Injuries can’t keep setter off the court
Kylie Schubert had to wait seven games this season before stepping on to the court for the MacEwan Griffins volleyball team, but that didn’t bother her one bit.
When that moment finally came on Nov. 17, she was filled with joy and grinning from ear to ear.
Her team lost in three straight sets that night to the Manitoba Bisons, but nobody could wipe the smile off her face, because she got to experience a moment she thought might never happen.
She was playing university volleyball after recovering from three major knee surgeries to repair two torn anterior cruciate ligaments and a partial tear, all in the same knee.
Now, she’s having the time of her life as a rookie setter for the Griffins.
“It was a long road, and there were a lot of times where I was starting to think, was this ever going to stop? But I was never going to give up,” said Schubert.
She initially tore her ACL in Grade 11, and only four months after her first surgery, she tore it again.
After taking a full-year off to recover from the second ACL tear, she was ready to make her mark with the Griffins, only to partially tear it again in the team’s first preseason game last year.
Despite her second ACL tear, Schubert was originally recruited by the University of Regina Cougars and was redshirting her first season with Regina two years ago.
But at the end of the first semester, feeling homesick and dealing with injury anxiety, the Harry Ainlay grad came back to Edmonton and approached Griffins head coach Ken Briggs about the possibility of transferring.
Briggs took a risk and opened up a spot on MacEwan’s roster for Schubert.
“He never gave up on me,” said Schubert. “I just had to try and show them that I was more than just an injury. I’m a player, too.”
For Briggs, having Schubert join the program was something he couldn’t pass up.
When Schubert re-injured her knee in her first pre-season game last year, Briggs saw just how determined she was to overcome it.
“Her drive as an athlete is beyond anyone I’ve ever been around. She did everything to get back and she is the ultimate teammate,” said Briggs.
Briggs stood by Schubert in her recovery, but didn’t make any promises to her about playing time when she returned to the court.
But nothing was going to stop Schubert, who is having a solid first season for the Griffins. For some athletes, proving they could come back would be enough. But Schubert wants more.
“I had a burning desire to prove I could come back and now I feel like I’m just getting started,” said Schubert. “I want to earn those years back. I’m going to try and play for as long as my body will let me.”