Stevie Kaye.....

1. How old are you?       

29 and 30 in September

              

2. What position do you play?  

Outside, Middle, and my favorite Rightside

    

3. What got you into volleyball?       

My mom, the coaches, and the players who say my potential and supported my growth. 

When I was in 6th grade my mom told me I had to pick a fall sport to play in Middle School and since she wouldn't let me play football I had to play volleyball. I ended up being naturally good and right away my 7th grade Middle School teacher Ms. Schaffer saw my potential and told me everything I could do with volleyball. She told me about the CU Boulder volleyball camp I could attend to improve my skills. So my mom took me and I ended up being recruited by one of the top clubs in the state my freshman year in high school. God rest coach Schaffer’s fierce soul, she made such a difference. All that hard work coach Schaffer put in with me got the attention of the Varsity high school coach. Coach Aaedft sought me out at the end of my 8th grade year with intention to get me prepared for high school ball. With her support she was able to get me a spot on my first traveling club team. Because of that experience I made JV and got to swing Varsity. 

Between my mom, coach Schaffer, and coach Aadeft they were able to take my raw athletic  potential and help me pave my way towards an athletic scholarship within the first 3 years that I played volleyball. To be honest I was more into basketball but after seeing how my coaches responded to my talent, volleyball ended up getting into me :)

                   

4. Are you currently in or going to college? If so what school are you/will you be attending?    

I graduated college in 2015

                                  

5. Who is your role model?   

My mom is my role model. She has persevered through hell and back time and time again with grace, strength, integrity, and divine wisdom. Her ability to start each day with  a new smile on her face and faith in her purpose is truly inspiring to witness and a true honor to be a part of. I love you mama Wyllus.

A coach who was a great role model to me was my second high school coach Doug Schafer. His love, passion, care, and dedication to not only his players but the game and the culture of volleyball is something I have only witnessed first hand through coach Dougie Fresh. Now, as a coach, I look up to him and admire the amount of love and joy he continues to bring to the game of volleyball since his days playing as a youth. He never stopped playing nor has he needed to take a break, his passion still runs strong. When I played for him I told him I would come back and help him coach, so I did. In 2019 Doug and I led our team to a state championship and took second. He says it wouldn't have been possible without me, which is 100 percent true, but it also wouldn't have been possible without him either. Team work makes the dream work, all you gotta do is Believe. Coach taught me that, I just took it to the extreme. 

     

6. As an athlete what challenges do you face on the court?   

My biggest challenges on the court were my injuries. I had the passion to play and the work ethic to match. I also didn't know how to slow down and relax until I found cannabis and hemp to help me turn down the speed. I ended up having two knee surgeries and lost the interest of all the D1 schools recruiting me. After being a part of one of the best club teams in the nation my 18’s year, to being a part of one of the worst teams in D1 created a monster in me. All that hard work to get to the top and I ended up at the bottom. 

My second biggest challenge was my social issues with other girls on my team. Throughout my time as a youth I experience domestic violence and lacked financial resources that created a chip on my shoulder. This left me survival mode where everything every moment mattered to becoming someone and going somewhere because my mama was struggling and I needed to get to work to help her. Some of my teammates understood me but others didn't, especially in college. I also have 5 brothers, who taught me how to play like a boy, no mercy, no tears, just play. Despite their training, I ended up being a girl anyway and didn’t always get along with my teammates who had always been girls. 

                                          

7. Have you ever been injured while playing? If so what did you injure and what was your recovery process?        

I tore my ACL and both meniscus’ my sophomore year in high school during club season. I had surgery and went through physical therapy for two months until our insurance ran out. From there I was responsible for doing therapy on my own and as you can imagine being 15 with such a large responsibility and a single working mother, that therapy was few and far between. I wasn’t able to finish my club year and wasn’t released to play my junior year in high school until club started in November. That was a 10 month process.

I retore my medial meniscus my senior year in high school. It was senior night and our last home game against our rivals. I was always the first to hit in the warmups and went in hard for a tossed 1. I came down hard and felt the tear right away. I don’t remember how I responded but I know it didn’t stop me. I went on to play the entire match limping in between plays. After, I went to the doctor and he told me I had to sit out from playing at our District tournament due to injury. We won and I convinced him to let me finish the season. I played every game and almost every point at Regionals. We then went to state where I played like it was my last day. I had no idea what was going to happen after state. I was scheduled for my second knee surgery two weeks post state and was already told after my first surgery I wouldn't be able to play again. I played every game and every point. I even got interviewed by the Denver Post which was an honor given Colorado’s best player was on my team. They saw me, even for just one day, they saw me ball out the way I had always wanted to and knew I could. Two weeks later I was having surgery for another meniscus repair and facing another 10 month recovery process that was also cut short due to lack of insurance. I recovered but always dealt with a strong lack of mobility and a strong volume of pain.

In college I strained my bicep tendon during the off season my freshman year. For whatever reason my pain and injury was never taken serious and I was forced to play on it. Some nights it hurt so bad I would cry while my roommate gave me a massage. Throughout the day during class I wasn’t able to lift or move my arm at all. I would hold it on my stomach like it was in a sling. Before practice I would heat and stretch my shoulder for an hour. Instead of being seen as injured I was seen as not performing well and didn’t get to play much. Every time I hit or served the ball I felt pain. The next season wasn’t as bad but I still had to heat, stretch, and ice every game and practice. The pain would come and go depending on the amount of reps I took. To this day if I hit or serve too much the pain comes back. 

My last year in college I ended up with plantar fasciitis in both feet. My shoes ended up being too big and my coach refused to order me another pair. When I woke up in the morning and stepped down I felt like both my feet were going to snap in half. I would have to wait for the pain to go away until I could stand, let alone walk. I would get ice massages after practice from time to time but couldn't handle the pain some days. They liked to dig real hard and deep but I would have been fine with a gentle rub. 

The strangest “injury” I had to deal with was my high blood pressure my last year playing. I had transferred to an NAIA school and to my surprise they had a much better training program than my low level Division 1 school. We went through a rigorous physical and health test that I ended up failing due to hypertension. I had to sit out during the first two days of preseason while having my BP monitored 3 times a day. On that second night I ended up medicating myself by smoking cannabis and it stabilized my BP completely. On the 3rd day of preseason I went into the training room and the trainer was amazed, confused, and had no choice but to release me to play. They monitored me for another week so I continued to smoke cannabis at night and stabilize my BP. Sadly enough I ended up losing my scholarship for smoking. Ironic right, the one thing that got me back on the court took me off forever. 

              

8. Do you find it hard to be in a relationship while in season?       

This doesn’t apply to me babe. 

                                    

9. What number are you and why?   

My number is 11. I wore this number for the first time my second club season for the team who recruited me from the CU Boulder camp Miss Schaffer told me about. Being on that team helped me realize how far volleyball could take me and how I could pay for college as an athlete. 11 to me represents the ultimate beginning of my never ending love story with volleyball

                                              

10. Where are you from?

I am from all over. I was born in Las Vegas and moved to Colorado when I was 5. We lived outside of Denver for one year and then moved to Platteville, as small town in the middle of nowhere, where we lived from the time I was in first grade until my freshman year in high school. My sophomore year we moved to Littleton, outside of Denver. 

11. Would you consider playing overseas?          

That was always my ultimate dream but due to my knee injuries I never made it. 

              

12. What position do you feel is the hardest to play?

For me personally, setting was the hardest position to play. Maybe it is because I am missing the tips of two of my fingers but I was always laughed at for my great efforts to be a setter. As a right side I got my chance to shine every once in a while. I even snuck in a 1 for my middle a time or two. The amount of pressure you feel in such a short time while having perfect timing and precision is a true art form. And then to add to that, the best setter jump set. 

13. What do your workouts consist of?      

Right now I have a very specific way of training my body after sustaining a number of injuries and concussions. I see my chiropractor frequently in between workouts and my clients. I do physical therapy on my shoulder, knee, and back almost every morning. I practice Traditional Chinese Martial Arts: Tai Chi, and Qi-gong when I can and do Gun Fa everyday. I do yoga once a week with a private instructor and enjoy doing pilates when I can. I don’t exercise with heavy weights anymore and have replaced that resistance with bands. 

                              

14. How often do you work out during the week?             

In a perfect world I would be doing my physical therapy every, Gun Fa and Tai Chi every morning. I would do Pilates and Yoga once a week with two days of physical strength training. This fluctuates depending on how busy I am with clients but for the most part this is what my week looks like.

      

15. Do you take protein supplements? If so why?    

I use one protein shake powder supplement paired with other plant based protein from seeds and nuts. I drink this shake in the morning because I am not very hungry but need to fuel myself for the amount of physical work I demand from my body everyday. The rest of my protein I get from my plant based diet. Now that I am plant based I don’t have to eat nearly as much as those who consume animal products. Plus I feel great, and look younger and healthier than I did in college. 

        

16. Have you ever thought about quitting?     

I only thought about quitting a few times. Once, when I played club for a mean coach who went from being a big fan before my two knee surgeries to treating me terrible after those surgeries. I still don't understand why he was so mean and either do a lot of the girls who witnessed him bullying me. All season he tortured and humiliated me in front of the whole club. One day my ride was late to picking me up because she forgot her heat pack and didn’t want to get in trouble for forgetting again. But because I made her wait for a couple minutes outside without knowing she was there I ultimately got blamed for us being late. We never told him we went back to get the heat pack which took way longer than the couple minutes she had to wait, but it was her car so I took the blame. As my punishment he made me sit out the entire 6 hour practice and replaced me and my court time with a 15’s player. It was the last straw that broke the camel's back and I called my college coach asking him if he would be okay if I quit. He knew how my coach was but told me I would regret letting him win by quitting. So stuck it out and watched a 15 year old get the court time I had been waiting for all season. It just so happened that during that practice the girl who played above me wasn’t there and I was going to have my chance on the starting side before going into Nationals. 

The other time I wanted to quit was my last year in college when I was starving and couldn't afford to eat. I thought about quitting every time we had to travel for an away game. I remember listening to my teammates eat while I tried to sleep with an empty stomach. The best part about those trips was that I was guaranteed to eat and I didn’t have to go to bed hungry. And even though I didn’t eat red meat, a burger from in and out was food. My mom could hardly afford to take care of herself and my two little brothers and my dad wasn’t in the picture so I was left to fend for myself. I told my coach that I needed more meal plans and that I didn’t have money to eat but I don’t think she understood what that meant because of how much privilege she had. She transferred over some money for meals from my second semester but I could only afford to do that once. I also got tired of getting in trouble for sneaking into the cafe so I went hungry a lot. I was so alone I ended up making friends with the gas station attendant across the street from my apartment. Even though he didn’t have much to give he gave me money to eat as often as he could. 

This was the season I ended up losing my scholarship for medicating my hypertension with cannabis. Sad to say, in the end I was more than ready to be done after a long road of feeling like a bad person. But I never quit, I lost. 

                        

17. How do you handle adversity?

Looking back at how I handled my adversities I can’t help but think I did my best with what I was given. When I had two knee surgeries and was told I wasn’t going to be able to play in college, I worked hard to receive a Division 1 scholarship (even though we sucked). When I tore my meniscus and was “too injured” to play, I finished my season strong and got attention from the press. When my mean club coach had a one on one meeting to ask me what my problem was, I was honest with how miserable I was (even though he didn’t care). When I was having conflicts with a teammate about our cannabis use, I was honest and turned myself in and took all the punishment while she finished her senior year without any hiccups. However; after I lost my scholarship for cannabis use I did not handle it well. I went into a deep depression for 3-4 years before a professor awakened me to my voice. 

18. How do you handle feedback?

I love productive feedback. If it makes me better, explain it to me, show me how to do it, watch me do it, and tell me how I did. If it is unproductive or sloppy feedback I am sensitive and don't care to listen. Now as I’m older instead of looking at people like they are idiots I do my best not to show my lack of interest but it is still tough for me to receive undue feedback. 

19. What is some advice you would give younger athletes?

Take care of your health. Your emotional health, mental health, physical health and your spiritual health. For me I lacked a lot of resources but now with youtube and social media being healthy is a matter of self responsibility and luckily for this generation a trend. If you know what Kim K does for her make up routine, you should be able to tell me what Keri Walsh does to take care of her health as a much older volleyball player. 

If you are injured SPEAK UP and be honest about how you feel. There are so many ways to help recover from injuries that will get you back on the court safely, don’t let that one play, or that one practice be more important than you entire career. 

And if you need help always ASK. I made the mistake of not asking for help when I was hurt or hungry. Do not be afraid to speak up with confidence and say I need help. WE ALL NEED HELP it does not make you any less of a person or athlete it will make you stronger. 

Thank you Stevie. Reading this I got emotional. Make sure you all follow her. Her Instagram is @steviekaye