Moments matter - tales of a senior athlete

Rebecca Steckle never thought she would be back for a fifth year. Academically driven, on course to graduate, and ready to begin her career as a nurse, it wasn’t until a teammate stated another possibility.

“One of my friends [Kiera Adams] joked one day ‘wouldn’t it be funny if we all came back,’ because we all weren’t planning on it,” said Steckle. “I remembered [laughing], but I never gave it a chance… It was just never on the table [at that point].”

Flash forward to this season, and not only is Steckle back on the court in maroon, she is enjoying a perfect 6-0 record in league play while putting up some of the most stellar performances of her career.

“It got to the point where I thought about it and I just thought ‘why not’,” said Steckle. “I have the rest of my life to do everything else but I only have one more year to play with this team.”

Making the most of every game has been a clear theme among the Mac women this year, and their record shows it. Currently sitting third in the University Sports national rankings, women’s volleyball has yet to lose a game at home, dropping only two sets since October with solid wins over York, Lakehead and Brock in the last three weeks.

As a player, Steckle has transitioned from a first-year recruit out of Kitchener, Ontario who averaged just 0.71 points a game, to a team starter who currently sits third in the Ontario University Athletics league in hitting percentage (0.357) with 51 total kills and 65.5 points on the year.

So what advice does this seasoned player have for her fellow marauders?

Find your Mental Game

Being physically ready is just half the battle. Mental preparation has a huge impact on performance, and needs effort to improve.

“It took a long time for my game not to be dependent on how confident I was feeling,” said Steckle. “I [started to realize] that it wasn’t about ‘do I get this point or do I not,’ it was ‘am I being better?’ It was ‘did I allow my team to get the point or did I make my team better.”

“My mindset is always staying relaxed, and not thinking too much about the game,” said Steckle. “I don’t like to overthink... I just need to remember who I am playing for. My focus before the game is relaxing and remembering why I am in that team room, its for the girls around me.”

Don’t Dwell

Steckle has experienced her own setbacks along the way, from nagging injures to early playoffs exits. But the ability to take something away from each of those setbacks is what is really important.

“There are moments that are really hard… it is easy to look back and be angry, and we have all [done it]. But it becomes to much of an emotional game,” said Steckle. “Learning to take losses and recognize what you have done well or where you have lacked [can] help you focus in on what you need to do next time. As a team, we are much better at that.”

Venture out of your Comfort Zone

Finding your own success means more than just working hard within immediate circles.

“I lot of the time we can get into this bubble within the Mac community, which is cool because I think we have a really strong group, the university itself is just so inclusive,” said Steckle. “But it’s easy to forget that there is a world outside of us, and even easier to forget there are a lot of things that aren’t easy happening around us.”

Walking the Walk  

As an executive of the student non-for-profit Athletes Care, Steckle has been an advocate of youth empowerment through sport and currently serves as the hospital visit coordinator for the organization. She has also volunteered with the Abide Family Centre, travelling to Uganda to work with individuals from impoverished communities. For her efforts, Steckle was award the OUA West Division 2016 Award of Merit and was a finalist for the Dr. Edna Guest award for outstanding female graduating student.

Keep the Balance 

When it comes to managing school work and other commitments, it is more than just keeping busy and being efficient with the time that you have.

“People always ask how you can do multiple things… but I think when you enjoy two things and you put your full effort into them you are able to do it,” said Steckle. “If you don’t love both its hard because you wont want to do one or the other... but for me I was able to do [school and sports] because I love both and I wanted to do my best in both of them.”

Above everything else? it’s the little things that make everything worthwhile.

“I am so thankful for every moment, because I never expected them to happen. So the fact I get another chance at that for another year, is really special,” said Steckle.

“Just take the little moments and enjoy them, and you will be fine. You will love it.”