From crutches to kills, sophomore Bella Knoll has been playing volleyball since grade school and hasn’t let anything stop her yet.
Knoll has had a rough start to her high school volleyball career, after having to sit out for all her freshman year due to her hips. Knoll had surgery on both hips, which led to a long a long recovery process. But that didn’t stop her this year. Knoll is starting her season strong getting kills left and right. She is coming back from her injury better than ever.
Knoll’s favorite part of playing volleyball is the people and the skills she gains.” I get a chance to be with people I normally don’t get to see and gain leadership skills,” Knoll said.
Knoll has positive energy and always picks her team up and helps carry them to a win. This year Knoll is playing on the JV volleyball team and is a captain of the team. “Being a captain feels good. It helps boost my confidence and pushes me to not let anyone down,” Knoll said.
She not only focuses on pushing herself towards her individual goals, but she is also supportive of her teammate’s goals. “She is an awesome teammate and captain,” her teammate Bailey Eischeid said. “She is always positive and always picks people up and never puts anyone down.”
Constantly striving to improve, Knoll is always ready to listen to constructive criticism and knows how to use it to her advantage. But having to catch up with the rest of her team had to be hard. “For some student-athletes, the psychological response to injury can trigger or unmask serious mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, disordered eating, and substance use or abuse,” www.nca.org said.
Being a student-athlete with an injury is not easy. But Knoll is proof that, with determination, you can get back in the game.
