July 1, 2009

Alicia Hogl -- July 1, 2009

This past year was definitely the most challenging and amazing of my three that I have had at Miami. Tearing my ACL and lateral meniscus during our fall season isn't exactly how I thought I would be starting off the school year. After having a complete ACL replacement and having my meniscus repaired, the hardest part of being injured finally hit me. I was definitely feeling low, but I was determined to get back onto the field and play this season, no question. Through hours of physical therapy, rehab, and emotional highs and lows, I slowly got to do more and more again. First I got to play catch from a knee, then from my feet, then I got to jog, work up to a sprint, and finally-six months later hit. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to deal with. Still today, I am reminded with every wrong step I take or stiff feeling I get about the journey it took to be where I am today.

I knew I wanted to play this season. I knew there was something special about the 17 other girls on this team that I didn't want to miss out on. I didn't know, however, that we would make history. Although I missed out on playing in our early season games, playing in our conference games felt like I hadn't missed a beat being out for six months. The girls welcomed me back to the field with open arms and that was the attitude that we carried with all situations. With a strong, skillful freshman class, solid leading seniors, a focused coaching staff and everyone in between, we worked as one to win the MAC championship. That final game of the post-season was one I will always remember, but even more, I will remember beating Ball State during our second game of the tournament. They beat us twice in our last two games of the regular season and overcoming that hurdle felt like we had already won the championship. That was the most intense game of the week. Energy was seeping from our dugout from the very first pitch. There was no stopping us. That is how we made it into the NCAA Tournament where we put up a fight against Michigan, beat Cleveland State and pushed to the very end against Notre Dame. We persevered and became the first Miami softball team to win a game in the NCAA Tournament.

Since that last day of the most mentally and physically challenging year of my softball career, I have shared that success story with friends and family, and realized how much I already miss it all. And now as I write this story, I am in a completely different community than the one found at Miami. I find myself in a new `team' to work with and learn from. I have spent this past week of my summer training to be a summer camp counselor at Camp Orkila on Orcas Island, one of the San Juan Islands in Washington. Before training, I was able to relax with friends and family at home in Bellingham, Washington. I also visited Reno, Nevada where I grew up for the first three weeks of my summer, but now I am off on another journey. The people that I have met at camp thus far come from all over the world bringing amazing life stories. I have had so much fun learning songs, games, life lessons and the simple appreciation for my surroundings. Every day I wake up in an open air cabin to the sound of waves crashing feet away and I go to bed just after the sun sets over the mountain on the island across the bay.

Now that my first week of training is complete, I have decided to take a bit of a detour on my journey through the summer. Due to the economic situation, enrollment at Camp Orkila has been a bit lower than expected, creating a surplus of staff. This is where my detour takes place. The camp directors offered an option for staff to volunteer to either take a week of vacation or to go on a kayak trip around the San Juan Islands for five days, so I jumped on the kayaking opportunity, knowing that I may never have another one like this again.

Today, my day consisted of basic kayak training-since I honestly hadn't ever touched one before, and training on how to set up camp using tarps and rope as well as proper use of pressurized white gas and Bunsen burners to make meals, just to name a few things. Tomorrow, we are waking up early to do a "flip test" which is a basic demonstration that I know how to get myself out of my kayak, flip it over, and get back in if I happen to flip over in the ocean. Then we are packing up and heading out into the Pacific waters to our first island, Jones Island.

The skills and experiences that I am gaining and will gain from here on out are invaluable and I cannot wait to bring them back to campus to share with my team and spread through out the entire athletic department.

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