Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sadie Ross. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sadie, we are so deeply grateful to you for opening up about your journeywith mental health in the hops that it can help someone who might be going through something similar. Can you talk to us about your mental health journey and how you overcame or persisted despite any issues? For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
In 2021 I suffered from my first season-pausing knee injury, a partially torn right patella tendon. I was out for 3.5 months of a short 7 month season. Everyone told me it was supposed to be “my year” which made the devastation so much worse. I worked so hard living in the gym and focusing on my sports rehab to come back barely good enough to earn my spot back. This was a wake up call for me that as I leveled up in my sports competition I needed to start taking batter care of my body and insuring I was properly prepaired for the sports season. I was cleared to return to play and was healthy for a year in a half before another season-pausing knee injury in 2023, a pulled left Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL) and another 3 months out. Working so hard to get back to being better than I was before just for it all to be gone crushed me. I became servely depressed and began backing away from the things that made me happy. I poured myself into the gym and started obsessing over what I looked like instead of what was healthy for me, I was under eating and over working out to the point people told me I didnt look like myself anymore. During my injury I was lucky enough to be surrounded by people who had my best interest at heart and checked in on me, I dont think I would be the person I am today without them. My athletic trainers and physical therapist helped me create a regiment to ensure I was eating enough and doing the excersices that would return me to the court fastest. Now I have been injury free for a year, working out in the ways that benefit the way I look and feel.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a sophomore at Jesuit High School of Portland where I am apart of the varsity volleyball team (2023 state champs!) and the track & field varsity shot put and discus teams. I also play club volleyball at North Pacific Juniors (NPJ). To me, playing volleyball is like a job, constantly trying to expand my brand to hopefully get recruited to play Division 1 volleyball. With the help of my family my goal is approaching much faster than I ever could have expected and it is beyond exciting. The Pacific NorthWest is not known for volleyball and since I was little my goal has been to go to a big school and prove that there IS talent here! Every month my club team travels across the country to tournaments to hopefully qualify for nationals in Las Vegas, Navada. My team and I are so blessed to be given an opportunity to play with some of the best volleyball players in the US. But we are not done yet.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
It sounds sort of playground but I think the characteristic that I look for most in teammates, friends, business partners is someone who treats other how they would want to be treated. This is obviously with the acception that all people have a certain preference how they would like to be treated and that is something that we all have to tune in to. A skill that I think is the most important skill in any field is adaptabliltiy, can you mold into the role I need you to play, how fast can you mold into that? I know that’s a characteristic not everyone has so I think the easiest way to acquire this skill is to just be open to everything and take every opportunity with open eyes, ready to try anything. I think that’s something everyone could use a little more. A piece of knowlage I wish I had before trying track was just because I know a lot about volleyball doesnt mean I know a lot about every other sport. Meaning you can be great at one thing but when you try something new you have to accept that you dont know everything about that and the learning process is what will help you. To sum it up, be open, be adaptable, have fun and try new things.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
Specifically with volleyball it is SO important to be well rounded, I cannot stress this enough! In volleyball I have worn many hats on the court, defensive specialist, outside hitter, rightside hitter, middle hitter, setter. Playing all of these positions has opened my eyes to become a better teammate and help give my teammates a better view of the court. For someone in my position that is currently trying to get recruited to play collegiate volleyball many coaches have said they prefer a player that can play anything- this goes along with being a maluable player. I do believe it is important to have a specialty position, for example I am an outside hitter, but my club team has a phrase that says “everyone is a passer before they are anything else”. We make a point to keep everyone ingaged on what is going on in the game not just what their individual role is. The game can’t be played until the ball is passed.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Sadieross_VB
- Twitter: Sadieross_VB
- Youtube: Sadieross_VB
- Other: NCAA ID number: 2108302058
Image Credits
Rebecca and Eric Ross
