Bureau Valley’s Kyra Stoller makes it back with faith, hard work

It was the last game of the summer volleyball league. Bureau Valley senior Kyra Stoller went up to make a block like she did all spring and throughout the summer.

This time, however, she got tangled up with another girl, landed awkwardly and broke the fibula in her left leg.

“I knew something was wrong. I’ve had previous injuries before, so knew something was kind of off. But I really didn’t know what the feeling was, because I’ve never broke a bone before,” Stoller said.

“The thing that went through my mind is I just got to try to come back. I can help out my team as much as possible.”

I asked her early in the volleyball season, if she’d make it back for basketball, knowing that was her favorite sport.

She assured me, “Oh, I’ll be back for the end of volleyball.”

And she was. The Bureau Valley senior returned to volleyball down the stretch, playing in seven matches before the postseason, helping the Storm (13-19-1) reach the regional semifinals.

“She’s been working very, very hard. Kudos to her. She’s been working hard at P.T., doing whatever the doctors have been telling her to,” BV coach Caitlyn DeMay said. “She’s the type of kid that wants to get back. Good thing for her and it’s a good time of the season. She was determined.”

Stoller was determined and driven to make it back, even though she didn’t like missing practices when she had to go for physical therapy.

“There was a lot of P.T. A lot of missed practices. So it kind of stunk, because I missed the aspect being a part of the team and being there at every practice,” she said. “But, I mean, showing up at games and cheering on my team, it all just came together.

“One of main factors was I had so much fun playing volleyball, even though it was a short season. And just the feeling of getting a kill and getting a block, it just motivated me to come back and finish out in a great note.”

The thing that kept Stoller on course the most was her faith and the power of prayer.

“Definitely, lots of prayer,” she said. “It was a struggle. There was a lot of ups and downs, because it’s hard to watch one of your favorite sports go by you. But it’s important to just stay strong in your faith and just know He’s always with you.”

Stoller recently seized the moment to express her faith and give a testimony at Sunday’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ Fields of Faith at Bureau Valley. She talked about the pressures of being a high school athlete, the stress and anxiety that comes with it and the coping mechanisms.

She said it was very important to express her feelings to her peers and it’s OK to have struggles.

“I was very nervous to share a time that was very pressuring to me,” she said. “I struggled for a while, in my faith and as an athlete. I didn’t know who to turn to or who to talk with. As time went on, I realized that God was always with me, and I did not need to worry about disappointing anyone because all I needed to impress was God and he loves me for the way I am.

“The pressures of being an athlete are often considered ‘normal’ and forgotten about. As an athlete there can be so much pressure and stigma about being perfect and always performing at your best. It is important to break this barrier and talk about how normal it is to destress from this pressure and give it to God. So as athletes play games, they should play for God because after all, we are playing for an audience of one.”

Stoller is most excited to be back at full strength for basketball with the first practices starting Monday under new head coach Matt Wasilewski.

“As as senior, I just wanted to finish out on a great note and show the younger kinds, you put in the hard work, you can come back and show some great effort,” she said.

She’s a prime example of determination and faith.

Kevin Hieronymus is the BCR Sports Editor. Contact him at khieronymus@bcrnews.com