by By Dan Ninham
Sydney Sommers, 17 years old, will be a senior at the Redwood Valley High School in Redwood Falls, MN. Her parents are Jason and Brenda Sommers.
“I am a member of the Mdewakanton Tribe also known as Lower Sioux,” said Sydney.
Sydney is a multi-sport athlete. She played volleyball, basketball, track and softball her sophomore year. As a 7th grader her 4×100 Relay team qualified for the State Track Meet and got 7th place while setting the school record.
“I have received All Conference awards in all of my sports,” said Sydney. “I am a three year captain in volleyball and two year captain in basketball. We qualified for the State Basketball Tournament in 2018-2019 and we lost to the #1 seed Roseau. In volleyball I accomplished the 1,000 digs milestone.”
“Our tribe really focuses on respect: respecting oneself and others,” said Sydney. “Respect teaches you to work hard and to strive to reach your goals.”
“I have had several great coaches during my athletic career and am very thankful to them all,” said Sydney. “The one coach that has made the biggest impact on my athletic career is Taya Lindahl. I was given the opportunity to start varsity volleyball and basketball as an 8th grader. Being so young and playing with the older girls was kind of stressful and Taya was always there for support and encouragement. She has always pushed me to be the best athlete I can be. She was always there for me whether it was shoulder to cry on after tough loss or support and encouragement after an injury.”
“Sydney is one of the hardest workers in the gym,” said Taya Lindahl, head girls’ volleyball and basketball coach at Redwood Valley HS. “She is a lead by example type in practice. She always is giving maximum effort on every single play. She never gives up on a play and her effort and attitude to be great is contagious in the gym and girls feed off of her. During games she is a go to kid for us for sure. She finds ways to make the big plays.”
“Off the floor she is just as great of a leader. She finds ways to get in the gym with teammates to always improve and continue to get better. She tore her ACL the end of last volleyball season and from that day she didn’t miss a practice or game. She was on the sidelines encouraging teammates when they needed a boost or just a reminder that they could do it,” added Taya.
“The biggest challenge I had to face was my junior year,” said Sydney. “We were having a great volleyball season when the game before sections I suffered a knee injury. I completely tore my ACL and partially tore my meniscus. I had to have reconstructive knee surgery. I missed all of basketball season and had several months of physical therapy. The worst part about this was when everything shut down due to COVID.”
“I had to figure out how to continue my physical therapy at home with the limited equipment I had. Luckily my therapist developed an exercise plan that I could do at home. This was stressful because I had to trust that I was doing the right exercises to strengthen my knee to return to sports. I didn’t see my therapist or surgeon for a few months,” added Sydney.
“My knee got stronger everyday and I was excited for volleyball to start in the fall,” said Sydney. “Then it gets postponed and school is using the hybrid model. Through these challenges and stressful times I have learned that things work out for a reason, and to have a little faith and patience.”
Sydney said this is her motto: “When life gives you lemons make lemonade.”
“Sometimes things don’t always work out the way you planned but keep working hard and don’t give up,” said Sydney. “I have faced many challenges, knee surgery, other injuries and now Covid but I refuse to give up. I will try and make the best of these situations.”
Photo Credit: Brenda Sommers
