By Chuck Licata
Sometime on June 15 of this summer, Alyson Sulak (pronounced “Shoe-lock”) stepped to the plate for the Texas Stix 18U select softball team.

Sulak, who turned Sweet 16 on Wednesday (July 25), grounded out in her at-bat.

While grounding out in a softball game seems “unceremonial” and maybe a bit mundane, that event actually marked the end of one long journey – and the beginning of the “road back” – for Alyson, the daughter of Greg and Jennifer Sulak.

You see, Alyson – who played volleyball and softball for Liberty Hill High School her freshman and sophomore years – was seeing her first softball action (in fact, it was the first time she played in any kind of athletic event) since tearing her ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) back on Oct. 29, 2011.

That’s basically 230 days of inactivity for a girl who started in center field for the 2011 JV Lady Panthers and batted leadoff for them and who – as described by Stix coach Jeff Staton – is “a tough kid who doesn’t know what it’s like to sit around and be still.”

Sulak, who enters her junior year at LHHS in August, recalled the fateful Oct. 29 fielding event that sent her to a Houston emergency clinic, a Texas Orthopedic doctor and plenty of rehab time.

“I was playing left field and there was a high fly ball hit to left-center field,” Sulak recalled of the Stix tournament at a field in Spring, TX (just outside of Houston). “I was running at it full speed and pulled up to make the catch.” Unfortunately, another fielder collided with Sulak as they both went for the ball. Sulak got hit in the left knee in the collision and fell hard to the ground.

However, her injury didn’t seem serious – to anyone – at first.

“I heard my knee pop twice and I was in shock as I fell,” Sulak painfully recalled. “But while I was (stunned) it just didn’t seem to hurt as much I thought it would.”

Staton agreed.

“The play didn’t look like (it would result in a) horrible injury,” Staton said. “It was a big collision but they didn’t hit their heads in the collision. That’s usually a good sign.

“When I picked up her leg it popped again and I heard a ‘suction’ sound. There was a (person with medical background) on site and he didn’t think the injury would be too bad, so that gave us some hope.”

Jennifer Sulak revealed they took Alyson to an emergency clinic located five miles from the field. It wasn’t the greatest of visits.

“The doctor looked at the knee then at the x-rays,” Jennifer stated. “The doctor came in and said Alyson’s knee was ‘sprained.’ They put a brace on her knee – but, among other things, they put the brace on wrong.”

The Sulaks found that out when they visited Dr. Chris Danney and the staff at Texas Orthopedics on Halloween Monday.

“They ended up tearing the brace (we received from the emergency clinic) apart and moving it around,” Greg Sulak recalled. “After tests, they pre-determined Alyson had an ACL tear. This still had to be confirmed by an MRI. The doctors were talking about surgery on the knee followed by 6-to-9 months of rehabilitation and recovery.”

Needless to say, Alyson Sulak was not happy to hear that prognosis. She was, though, determined to have the requisite MRI done immediately (as opposed to waiting until the next day). In fact, she insisted on it – so they got it done that day.

The following night (Nov. 1), Greg and Jen gathered to tell Alyson the bad news – she had a torn ACL and lateral tear in her meniscus. Alyson surprised her parents a bit with her reaction.

“I had already come to terms with it, although I wasn’t happy about it,” she remarked.

Still it was going to be a hard, long – and tough – rehab and recovery period.

“I was both mad and upset at the same time,” Alyson said. “I went into a bit of a funk. I was going to miss all of the Liberty Hill High School softball season (the Lady Panthers ended up making it to the Class 3A state semifinals). I had been determined to make the varsity squad.”

While Sulak worked through the early part of her rehab and recovery (a combination of physical therapy, walking on crutches, wearing a brace, keeping weight off her knee as much as possible and using machines and various exercises), she got some help from an unexpected source.

Indeed, it was a long, tough road.  Six weeks on crutches and near-daily physical therapy both pre- and post-surgery. The Sulaks were thankful Alyson had access to the great training staff at LHHS for their part in Alyson's recovery.

“No doubt Alyson put in the work but she had great support from Miss B. (Sarah Baulch) and (Charles) Doc (Harrington) as well as the LHHS coaches along the way,” Greg Sulak stated.

She also got some help from and unexpected source.

“Ashley Kirk (of Round Rock, who pitches at the University of North Texas) heard about my injury and sent me an email,” Sulak said. “It was a huge help to me. She talked about how she had the same injury I did when she was 15 and gave me a lot of guidance on how to handle it and get through it.

“Honestly, that e-mail was very inspiring. It changed my attitude a lot!”

Part of that e-mail read as follows: “I know this is/will be one of the hardest things you'll have to deal with in your life, but there are some positives to what's about to happen. First, you get these awesome scars on your knee that everyone will ask you about; be proud of them! Show them off, you have a story to tell and those are like the introduction of a paper!

“Second, you'll get to be waited on hand and foot for a few days while you can't walk. (Also) you'll be inducted into this elite group of athletes that have worked 10,000,000,000 (times) harder than some others to get back to what you love to do. You won't take softball for granted any more, you'll appreciate the time on the field more than you can ever imagine.”
It continued: “This was my outlook on my situation: I can either let it win, or beat it. Since I am extremely competitive (and I'm assuming you are too!), I chose to fight it and beat it. It wasn't easy, but I had a fantastic support system…I know that 9 months seems like a long time, but it's going to fly by and before you know it, you'll get to start running again and then start playing soon after that!

“Cherish the time you have off though, use it wisely because it won't happen again. Go see movies, hang out with friends and find some way to stay involved in softball! Everything happens for a reason, remember that.”

The e-mail then finished with a Bible verse Alyson said inspired her: “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

While Alyson’s therapy and “time off” seemed to drag (remember, we’re talking about a 15-year-old here), she kept working at it and remained inspired.

She gradually started doing little things (walking, then jogging, then slowly getting back to softball activities). Her determination had her parents calling Dr. Danney on a constant basis “to find out the limitations of what Alyson could and couldn’t do.”

In the spring of 2012, Sulak worked with the LHHS softball team and became a team manager. Meantime she was doing things like hitting while sitting on a bucket. Also, Staton was talking to the UT-San Antonio coaches (his daughter Haylee pitches for the Roadrunners) about other activities in which Alyson could take part.

Still, Sulak was “chomping at the bit” as she sat the bench while she watched the Lady Panthers have their most successful season by reaching the state tournament for the first time in program history. But lo and behold, through the frustration, Sulak was learning another side of the game.

“I would hear some players (comment) about their playing time and here I was, envious of them because they could play the game and I couldn’t,” Sulak revealed. “I (vowed) I wouldn’t ever take playing softball for granted again.”

And..

”I started seeing the game from a coach’s perspective,” Sulak remarked. “I realized why coaches made the decisions they did; I was able to hear them express their thoughts and (Coaches Charice) Hankins and (Kristen) Brewer talked to me about (game situations). It really helped me understand the game better.”

Sulak even lent a hand coaching the LHHS JV girls in practice as well as helping to coach her 12-year-old sister Julia’s team. “I helped the team with their swings and other adjustments. I really enjoyed learning the game from a coach’s perspective and I know I’ll benefit from that experience.”

Fast forward to that wonderful June 15^th day at the Stix tournament in Round Rock. After getting her unconditional release on May 24, Sulak got ready for her first game action in eight months.

Needless to say, she was a tad nervous.

“Oh yah,” Sulak grinned, “I was very nervous. I kept reassuring myself the experience would be okay. I figured I’d probably make an out but that didn’t matter. I was back and that’s all that mattered.”

Sulak then had another “comeback moment.” Playing right field in a tournament in Plano, she “flashed some leather” and made a spectacular diving catch. Much to her chagrin, Sulak didn’t hear the excitement she thought she would on such a great catch.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Sulak chuckled. “I made a great catch and no one was cheering.”

Staton explained why.

“I looked at the other coaches and said, ‘Did she really just do that?’” Staton remarked. “We all held our breath after she made the catch, hoping that she’d get up right away. It (Alyson diving for a ball) isn’t surprising if you know Alyson – but considering what she’d just gone through, we all held our breath.

“Then she made another diving attempt later in the game. That’s twice in one game! I thought it was a bit much. But our coaching staff made a point of that to the other players – how Alyson was willing to give up her body again and again to make a catch despite all she’d just gone through.”

Welcome back, Alyson.