Years after losing her leg, woman still playing volleyball

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (AP) — It’s been two years, sixth months and 19 days since a life-altering car accident had Christian County High School graduate and Crofton native Courtney Baker asking if she’d ever play volleyball again.

Next month, the former Colonel standout will not only continue her on-court career, but she’ll do so alongside some of the best players in the country and at one of the top levels that exists for Paralympic athletes.

Baker fell asleep at the wheel of her car and crashed into a guard rail just past Bardstown on the Bluegrass Parkway in December 2012, as she traveled home following college finals at Asbury University.

Despite her fight to keep her limbs intact with a number of surgeries, Baker’s accident eventually led to amputation of her left leg. Those circumstances have yet to slow down the volleyball standout, however, as Baker found out last week that she has been chosen for the USA Volleyball’s 12-member Parapan Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team.

The team will compete in the Parapan American Games that takes place Aug. 9-14 in Toronto, Canada, and Baker — an Asbury senior-to-be — will be there to compete.

Christian County volleyball coach Rick Erickson, who convinced Baker to begin playing volleyball for the Cols in eighth grade, coached Baker during her high school career. Erickson was in Louisville for the NCAA Volleyball Final Four when he got the call from Baker’s dad, Greg, about the accident.

As Greg and his wife, Laura, rushed from Hopkinsville to be at their daughter’s side, they wanted a familiar face to be with Baker at the University of Louisville hospital. With Erickson’s relationship with and proximity to his severely-injured former player, there was no better option.

"Once you’re a player in my program, you’re one of my kids forever," Erickson said.

Erickson says he still remembers the look of panic on Baker’s face when he first saw her at the hospital, and it had nothing to do with anything medically-related.

"The first question she asked was, ‘Coach Erickson, am I ever going to be able to play volleyball again’," Erickson recalled. "I told her, ‘Yes,’ and that worst-case scenario, we would just make her a setter. In the U.S. Games (Baker will be playing in), everything you do is using your hands, which is just like a setter.

"I guess I kind of foretold her some things that could be coming down the pipeline later in life."

A pre-nursing major at Asbury, Baker has worked hard to continue playing the game she loves. In March 2013, she began communication with an organization called Amputee Blade Runners, a non-profit organization that helps provide free running prosthetics for amputees.

Similar to well-known South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius, Baker was eventually fitted for a blade that would give her the ability to resume her playing career at AU. Her unwavering loyalty to the game and her physical therapy quickly convinced the Blade Runners to provide the equipment that traditionally costs around $15,000.

"There were times where she was hurt, and a lot of players (with similar injuries) would have come out the game. But she would stick it out and continue to fight and battle for the team," Erickson said of Baker’s high school career. "Her junior year was really when she grasped ahold of that competitive nature and was going to be as much of an impact player as she could possibly be."

Baker started varsity as a sophomore. During her junior and senior years, she led the Colonels to a regional championship runner-up finish behind Caldwell County in 2010 and 2011.

Erickson, who described Baker as his "go-to player" and a constant competitor who always worked to be one of the better players at Christian County, was elated upon hearing the news of Baker’s selection to the U.S. Parapan national team.

"I felt natural excitement for her and her family, and how good this is for the Christian County volleyball program," Erickson said. "Anytime you have an athlete who can reach this level, because it’s such a rarity, it’s significant. I’m just ecstatic for what she’s able to continue to do in the game of volleyball.

"She’s not allowing anything to limit her opportunities."

The U.S. opens the 2015 Parapan American Games under head coach Bill Hamiter on Aug. 9 against host Canada at 3 p.m., followed by an Aug. 10 match against Cuba at 3 p.m. Team USA concludes the round-robin preliminary round on Aug. 11 against Brazil at 7 p.m. The semifinals are slated for Aug. 13, followed by the medal round matches on Aug. 14.

With the U.S. already qualified for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the highest finishing team at the Parapan American Games other than Team USA and Brazil will earn a spot in next year’s Paralympics.

The roster includes six veteran players. The 5-foot-8 Baker will play opposite side hitter.

In the summer of 2012, Erickson worked with the Wounded Warriors at Fort Campbell specifically in the game of sitting volleyball, so he was able to offer Baker some insight on what to expect.

"We talked about what she can expect and she explained to me that it’s very different and much more difficult to use your hands to move around on the floor, and then quickly get your hands up to play a ball," Erickson said. "It will be such a great experience for her and I’m so happy she’s getting the opportunity."

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Information from: Kentucky New Era, http://www.kentuckynewera.com

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