For years, Sara Seitz used her head to redirect airborne soccer balls. Now, she has the chance to use it to instruct younger players.
After suffering three concussions this season, doctors ruled Seitz out for the remainder of the season and Mid-American Conference tournament. Seitz has been pivotal in the Bobcats’ success during her four years in Athens as she amassed 59 games played since 2008.
During her freshman season, she played in 14 games. As a sophomore, she played in 18, and as a junior, 19. But in her senior season, Seitz was limited to eight appearances.
“I got my first concussion my senior year of high school, and I would get blurry vision from time to time in the game, but I wouldn’t really think anything of it,” Seitz said. “I got a major one my sophomore year and then two more last year, and I got about three this year.
“It’s just, every time it happens, it just gets worse and the symptoms are worse.”
Her doctors made the call to end Seitz’s season early because she couldn’t take herself out, Seitz said. After the initial decision, reality finally hit home.
“I think it took me a while for it to really set in that I wasn’t going to play anymore,” she said. “Just knowing that I will never play on this field again or play ever again is heartbreaking.”
The several concussions Seitz sustained on the field might have been caused by the role she played as the center midfielder. Her vocal and physical play was a characteristic she would never have changed.
“I think all the head balls I took and all the hard challenges underwent, it played a role in the ultimate outcome of all the concussions,” Seitz said. “I did my role the best I could, and if that’s what it took, then that’s what it took. I’m never going to give up, and when I got hurt at the beginning of the season, playing soft wasn’t an option.”
Once Seitz was ruled out for the remainder of the season, head coach Stacy Strauss and the staff gave her the role of a student assistant coach. It was a role that Strauss had seen as Seitz encouraged and directed players while on field.
Though losing Seitz in the midfield hurt the Bobcats, other players filled the void. Strauss and Seitz both understood there was a season to finish.
“It’s heartbreaking, but you have to kind of focus on the players that are able to play and look forward to preparing the team who is going to be on the field,” Strauss said.
Being able to stay on as an assistant coach gave Seitz the chance to still be a part of the team while getting a glimpse at a possible future in coaching.
“I’ve thought about coming back and being a graduate assistant coach and whatnot. I guess it will just depend on what Stacy thinks at the end of the year,” Seitz said. “But I could definitely see myself in a college or high-school coaching role.”
Seitz has been able to give younger players her insight as they stepped into her place.
The coaches’ perspective has given her a different look at the game and helped her realize that life on the pitch can never be taken for granted. Strauss said she could see her former player as a future coach.
“I would love to have her as a coach here. She has a lot of goals and aspirations in terms of a career in the medical field with physical therapy and that kind of thing, so she is going to have a lot of options for her,” Strauss said. “Seitz would make a great coach.”
mb832409@ohiou.edu
