For most IU seniors, their life perspectives change after graduation. For one IU women’s water polo player, it changed before her senior year even started.\nIn August 2005, Emily Schmitt was preparing for her senior year of college, just a few months before the start of her last water polo season. She set out for a bike ride in an attempt to make the most of one of the last remaining days of summer. While traveling down an unfamiliar road, she was hit by a van and blacked out.\n“I don’t remember the few minutes before it happened,” Schmitt said. “I had no recollection of the impact or sound. The first real recollection of that night was being in the hospital.”\nThe accident left Schmitt with two broken vertebrae, one burst – an injury which could lead to paralysis. Fortunately for Schmitt, the injury did not leave her paralyzed, but her rehab was still arduous. \nShe spent a couple weeks in the hospital and needed a back brace to help with the injuries. Even in the following months, Schmitt made several hospital trips for rehabilitation before finally being able to plunge back into the water.\n“I always wanted to get back and play; that was never a question,” Schmitt said. “It was hard because I had my doctors and (IU coach) Barry (King) highly recommending that I redshirt last year, it was hard and took a long time to grasp that I wasn’t going to play for a year. But it was never a question of just quitting.”\nSchmitt’s desire to play another game for the cream and crimson was evident, but she would first have to endure a year and a half of grueling rehabilitation.
The redshirt season\nAt the start of the season in January 2006, Schmitt was back in the water practicing with her team, albeit it wasn’t playing water polo. She was able to participate in some shooting and passing drills with the team, but when it came time for physical contact, Schmitt had to work on other things.\n“Practice for me was doing rehab exercises,” Schmitt explained. “Going to practice for me \neveryday was second nature; my roommates were girls on the team. It was easy to push myself and make sure that I was getting better because I wanted to get back with my teammates.”\nAlthough the water work she did helped strengthen her back, she wasn’t close to being 100 percent. Schmitt hoped to be heal fast enough to play during the 2006 season. But, with the help of her doctors and King, she made what she called a difficult decision and chose to redshirt the year. Schmitt had to watch the women she played with for three years graduate while she put her final year as a Hoosier on hold.
The return\nFor the 2007 season, Schmitt was back in full force with the team. She could finally join the team in all its activities.\n“It was huge for me to come back at the beginning of the year and not have a time that I had to get out of the pool,” she said. “I could do everything with the team. It was so exciting, very rewarding to say the least.”\nThe difference between practices and games is significant, she said, and getting back to competitive play proved to be yet another challenge for Schmitt.\n“Physically I don’t think she had any shortcomings,” King said. “Speed wise, there was a small period of adjustment.”\nSchmitt admitted that it was hard getting back into the games after so long, but credited her teammates for helping her through any struggles she had. \n“If I got frustrated I always had a teammate to talk to,” Schmitt said. “During games you play hard because your teammates are there and they’re playing hard.”\nIn return for their words of motivation, Schmitt provided a great deal of inspiration for her teammates. \n“She’s one of the strongest people that I know,” junior goalie Jackie Pyrz said. “To go through something like that and have the will to pick yourself up, I look up to her for that. She deserves a gold star.”\nKing believes the mutual motivation Schmitt and her teammates provide for one another is an asset to the women.\n“Spiritually for the team – it’s always been the silver lining of a dark cloud,” King said. “The ability of the team to rally around her and the example that she provides are two huge positives for the team.”\nOn April 7 when IU defeated Michigan in Bloomington, Schmitt celebrated senior night after the team’s only home match of the season. Though it wasn’t the initial group of women that entered the program with Schmitt, she couldn’t be happier with her new graduating class.\n“Last year was hard, but looking back at it now I’m so glad that I stayed and played this year.”
