Injuries Can’t Dampen Spirits, Love of Game for Katelyn Morgan

Abby Wittler, Staff Writer, Advanced Journalism

Katelyn Morgan, 2017 NDA graduate, has been continuing her education, along with her basketball career, at UW-Eau Claire.

After being a successful player throughout her years at NDA, she made the decision to play in college and continue doing what she loves.

My favorite thing about basketball is how rewarding it is. You meet so many new people and make so many friends. You develop amazing time management skills, leadership skills and teamwork skills that are important for future careers. You are motivated to stay fit in college and avoid the freshman 15,” Morgan said.

She has been playing for nine years, and the most important skill she has developed is being able to communicate effectively with her teammates and coaches on and off the court.

In Morgan’s opinion the most important thing for a team is “knowing your role. Not everyone on a team can be the leading scorer, but everyone can be a contributor in their own way. Everyone on the team is equally important and they should feel that way.”

All of this experience and success has come with an equal amount of hardship for Morgan, as she has torn both of her ACL’s playing the sport she loves so much.

She has worked through these injuries by focusing on the small victories she saw with recovery, such as being able to bend her knee to a 90-degree angle or walk without a brace.

Every little thing was another step towards being able to play again and one of her motivations was “being focused every day on working towards slowly coming back to basketball.”

Most helpful to both her recoveries has been her support system.

“I have been blessed with the best family, teammates and coaches who have helped me stay positive throughout the long process. They helped me stay focused on what I was working towards, instead of what I was missing out on,” she said.

Her biggest challenge with these injuries has been the length of the recovery time; being close to a year, it seems to drag on forever.

Her most recent tear happened this past year during a summer league game and Morgan will not be cleared for around two to three more months.

I am currently learning how to run again,” she said.

Morgan’s advice for an aspiring player or anyone going through an injury is simple: “Don’t make excuses.”