Muff “Controls The Controllable”, Overcomes Adversity To Play College Volleyball
Kennedy Muff will be starting her Freshman year of college soon, just like plenty of others over the next couple weeks. However, her journey to still be able to play college volleyball is a little bit of a different path than most. To say Muff has been through adversity is an understatement. However, her perseverance is one that everyone can be inspired by and use when faced with multiple challenges whether it’s on the court or off.
Muff is a 2019 graduate of Westosha Central High School (Salem, WI) and was a member of Sky High Volleyball Club in Crystal Lake, Illinois where she was one of the top setters in her class in Wisconsin. Her success on the court led her to commit to Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida during her Sophomore year of high school.
It was Muff’s summer prior to her Junior year, where she started having to work through some health challenges that would be the first of a few recoveries during her high school career.
“I ended up in the ICU due to an appendix rupture. Two weeks before nationals, my team and I were training rigorously, and I didn’t see the warning signs. In this process, I lost 35 lbs and was sidelined for the national tournament to recover and gain my strength and weight back. I had so much support from Sky High coaches and directors, high school coaches, teammates, friends, and family,” said Muff.
“The entire experience was such a lesson in resilience because I had worked out hard for that entire year and I lost all the weight overnight it seemed. I was cleared at the end of July working out again and was able to play my Junior year.”
A natural competitor, Muff was able to find her place back on the court, leading her high school and club teams.
“I always feel great when I can compete. I learned that I could only control certain things in life, and I needed to focus on those things with my academics, working out, practicing at a high level, being a good teammate, and living a healthy lifestyle.”
Muff (#14) with a highly decorated Senior class at Central.Bittersweet Senior Year
Westosha Central went into Muff’s Senior year with big expectations with multiple athletes who were committed to college programs and a strong chance of making some noise in the postseason. The Falcons would go on to win the Southern Lakes Conference Title, Regional Title, and were Sectional Runner-Up. However, this was somewhat of a bittersweet ending for Muff. During the season Muff had four grandparents pass away within a few months of each other, with her grandpa passing unexpectedly while she was at one of her tournaments.
“Our team overcame some adversity throughout the season but came together at the end to win the conference championship. We came up short in the sectional final loss to the state champions, Burlington, another talented team. That was one of the highlights of my senior year, because to be honest, I like to battle good players and coaches, and I have a lot of respect for the girls on Burlington’s team.”
Muff would earn All-State honors along with being nominated as a top player for the Milwaukee Journal Prep Sports Awards. Before heading to Flagler, Muff would have one more season to play club at Sky High. However, there was one more challenge that Muff would have to overcome.
One More Challenge
During the club season, Muff tore her ACL, which for any athlete is devastating. The road to recovery is not only a physical grind, but mentally athletes are out for up to nine months. To sit on the sidelines, watching, watching some more, and battling through the frustration of not being able to be on the court when that is the place they may be most comfortable.
“I think I went through a rollercoaster of emotions with the ACL injury. I learned how blessed I am to have good health insurance, great doctors and therapists, and the ability to have timely surgery.”
Muff continued to focus on the “controllable”. “As soon as the injury happened, there was a team of people to get me to be able to play in the first preseason game of my college career. Having had to go through rehab before, taught me that it is about the work you put in and following the doctor’s orders and again to control what I could.”
Through all the setbacks, Muff always had a supportive team around her that included family, friends, coaches at Sky High, and especially her high school coach Megan Awe as well as former Westosha Central Coach, Charlie Berg.
Through these experiences, Muff had a bit of advice for athletes who may be working through a challenge to get back on the court.
“It sounds cliche to say this but, it is about the journey, and you just have to work hard every day no matter what it is that you are doing, have integrity, and be a great teammate- everything else will fall into place.”
The Next Journey
The college season is fast approaching and Muff will be joining her team at Flagler where she is clear to play. She will be playing indoor, but will also be able to play beach opposite the indoor season. Muff will major in Sports Management, which is part of the rigorous Business program at Flagler.
Control the controllables and surround yourself with a strong team. These two mental skills were what Muff used to overcome adversity and come out as a success story multiple times. Whether it may be on the court or off, this will always be true. For Muff, she will be at the same starting line as every other Freshman in college the next couple weeks, but for her, she has a few more tools in the bag to face any challenge that comes her way and come out successful.