When Sydney Satchell was a student-athlete at Howard University playing lacrosse, she was a huge supporter of the women’s volleyball team. She attended all the home games and even traveled to nearby away games. After undergoing a below-the-knee amputation on her left leg after a 2015 car accident, it was volleyball that brought her a fresh sense of purpose and exhilaration.
Satchell’s prosthetist introduced her to sitting volleyball. “When they originally suggested it, I said no thank you, because I was ignorant [about] the value, the athleticism, the opportunities, and all of it,” she said.
It took her several months to become open to exploring paralympic sports. “My first sitting volleyball development camp in Oklahoma was February 4, 2016,” she said. “I remember walking in the gym. I was wearing my prosthetic, but I was also using a crutch to get around. We’re about to start practice. I’m saying hello to everybody and essentially everybody started disssembling…I found myself doing the same thing and was intrigued about how they got to this point.”
There are six players per team on the court for sitting volleyball, which is athletic and fast, like the standing game. Satchell felt an immediate sense of community, and it enhanced her confidence. “It allowed me to engage with my new normal,” she said. Despite a steep learning curve, she progressed quickly.
Being involved soon led to other changes in her life. At Howard, she majored in sports management with a minor in psychology and planned to coach lacrosse, which she did for a while. After committing to sitting volleyball, she left her job and moved to Oklahoma, where the national team’s resident program is based, to pursue a dream of competing at the highest level.
“What I do now is ministry,” Satchell said. “Outside of volleyball, I help lead a church called the Birthing Room. Faith has always been intermingled with volleyball.”
This trip to Paris will be Satchell’s first Paralympic Games—she is the only first-timer on the team. The games open on August 28 and sitting volleyball action starts the next day. The U.S. women are the defending gold medalists.
Even at age 32, Satchell is feeling the excitement.
“I’m really excited just to be among the other athletes, to compete,” she said. “This will be one of the largest crowds I’ve ever played in front of, so I’m really excited to be in a gym full of energy.”