November 25, 2014 at 3:01 p.m.
Back where she belongs
Eight months after ACL injury, Sydnei Smith makes debut at UW-Platteville
Back where she belongs
On the night of Nov. 16, UW-Platteville freshman and Rhinelander High School alumna Sydnei Smith had dinner with the rest of the Pioneer women's basketball team. The team was celebrating its second win in as many games, but for Smith, the milestone meant a little more.
Eight months and eight days after suffering a tear in her left anterior cruciate ligament during the RHS girls' basketball team's playoff game at Mosinee, Smith was finally back on the court playing the game she loves.
It's been a long road for Smith. A summer of rehab and strength building meant for months the former Hodag standout wasn't able to set foot on the hardwood in the manner she is used to. The game was constantly in her head though and that made the wait even more challenging.
"I think the hardest part was watching people play and not (being) able to, knowing I couldn't," she said. "In the beginning, that was really hard. When I first tore it, I knew my season was done right there and it was hard for me to realize that. The mental part was the hardest throughout the entire thing."
For the entirety of the summer, any basketball Smith participated in lacked any kind of fluid, natural movement. Instead, it was regimented. She worked on strength and she worked on speed. When she finally stepped foot on the UW-Platteville campus, that trend continued.
"At the beginning, I didn't play in any of the scrimmages or anything," she said. "I really just sat out. I was getting into the workouts and it was a lot of running, but I couldn't do any of the quick cutting. Probably about a week and a half or two weeks before the season started is when I started cutting. It was really just working on strengthening my knee before that."
That wasn't easy for Smith. Her history is full of wow moments and leadership roles. Suddenly, she was stuck at the bottom of the totem pole without any means to prove herself.
"It was tough because coming in as a freshman, you really just want to show what you can do and show how valuable you can be to the team because none of them have seen me play before," she said. "The fact that I had to sit out at the beginning was hard for them too, but really hard for me because I wanted to show everyone what I could do."
The one thing she could do was assimilate herself into college life. She spent as much time with her teammates as she could and worked on carving out a spot among the group.
"Campus is great," she said. "We have a really good team. We're always together. We get along really well. Nobody has arguments or disagreements so far and that's really great. You see a lot of different athletes around campus and everyone gets along which is really cool. It's not the same kind of drama as in high school. Everyone wants to be here and playing, and everyone wants to be doing what they love to do."
UW-Platteville head coach Megan Wilson said she tried to ease Smith in, but her work ethic and passion for the game was apparent from the minute she stepped foot on campus.
"She's just a great kid overall," Wilson said. "She really fits in with the type of athlete we're looking to recruit for our program. She works hard in the classroom and works hard on the court. You could tell when she got on campus that she had made tremendous strides coming back from her ACL injury. Once she started working with our staff, she really started working hard to get back in time for the 15th of November."
Little by little, Smith eased herself in. She found along the way that as her knee healed, her confidence in her leg didn't necessarily come back with it. It would take even more work to feel comfortable on the court again.
"Mentally was the biggest part of it," she said. "I was scared at first and when I started doing more things, I was slowly easing into it. It took a few days until I was could go fast. Then I started being able to do it without my brace on. That was a huge step. Now, I don't think about it as much as I did before and that's good."
It's a long process, and the work is far from finished, but Smith said day by day she's getting more comfortable on the hardwood.
"I'm getting there," she said. "I'm getting used to playing. I'm not letting my knee bother me when I'm playing defense and I'm working on that. I will get better in the long run, but right now, my knee is still there in my head."
Smith's role on the team is limited. The roster is senior-heavy and she's still getting comfortable after her injury. She played in three of the team's first four contests and so far has five points, a rebound and two assists while averaging 7.3 minutes per game.
"I'm getting some playing time, a few minutes here and there," she said. "We've only had two games and a couple scrimmages, but really for me it's about cheering the team on. We have six seniors, so they get a lot of the playing time. We don't have any juniors though, so that's where we come in with the couple sophomores we have."
Although Smith still isn't 100 percent after her knee injury, Wilson said she's been nothing but a positive presence in practice and has even contributed significant stretches in games.
"She's looked good," Wilson said. "She's been a little timid which is to be expected coming off an injury like that. She's starting to jump into drills and gain some more confidence in that knee. I think down the road she's going to do great things. She provided some really great spurts in our last game and we expect nothing but more of that from her."
Even early in the season, it's clear to Smith that the college game is an entirely different animal than what she experienced in her Hodag uniform.
"The pace is a lot faster," she said. "Everyone on the court is good. You have to watch everyone and know their strengths and weaknesses. You can't go out and think one person is the whole team. It's a lot different and a big step from high school. It's very exciting."
In the months since injuring her knee, Smith has experienced pain, setbacks, long days and recovery. It wasn't easy, but she said she thinks it will pay off in the long run. She doesn't take anything for granted anymore.
"I think the whole process is a scary thing," she said. "When it first happens, you never thought it would happen to you, but it did. You have to change your motives and know what you have to do to get to the next step. The fact that it happened will benefit me long-term because it made me stronger and I took not being hurt for granted. Now I know I can get hurt and I have to give it my hardest every moment I'm on the court, even if it's practice or walkthroughs. I have to try every second and give it 100 percent."
As a freshman, that effort will be in mostly a supporting role, and Smith has no problem with that. She's just happy to be a part of the team. When her time comes though, she's determined to be ready to step up.
"I know I want to be there for the rest of the seniors," she said. "It's their last year and it's going to be a big loss for us when they leave. I know eventually I want to be in that conversation for WIAC player of the year, and score some points."
Alumni of the Great Northern Conference know not to bet against her. If she gets her way, there's only a matter of time until the WIAC learns the same lesson.
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
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