There was a time not long ago that senior Skylar Wooten wasn’t sure she could ever play volleyball again.
Tuesday afternoon inside Independence High School, that painful period was a distant memory when Wooten signed a National Letter of Intent to play volleyball for WVU Tech.
“I feel like I am a pop star right now, honestly,” Wooten said, with a big smile. “In my sophomore year, when I fractured my spine, I wasn’t sure if I would ever play again. Now, being able to sign with WVU Tech, God had his hand on me and protected me.”
Wooten now joins several area players that make up the Golden Bears roster.
“It is not often that you can find such good local talent that hasn’t been swept up by other people,” WVU Tech volleyball head coach Amber Linville said. “When we can find them and get them to buy-in to our program, it is an honor to have them on the team.”
Wooten did not start playing volleyball until eighth grade, but was a quick study, making the varsity roster as a freshman at Independence.
With one year of experience under her belt and a promising sophomore season on tap, the unthinkable happened.
A side-by-side rollover sent Wooten to the Intensive Care Unit where she was unable to move for 72 hours.
In the accident, she suffered a fracture from the T4 through T6 vertebrae of her spine forcing Wooten into a brace.
With the brace running from her neck, down her back and around her waist, Wooten missed nearly all of her sophomore season.
“It was definitely a struggle, but I had (Independence volleyball head coach) Kevin (Bragg) pushing me, making sure I was safe in what I was doing and protecting me,” Wooten said. “I had my physical therapist really pushing me to my limits. I have to thank them a lot for how I got here.”
Bragg said one of Wooten’s biggest strengths was her quickness and her athleticism which caught Linville’s eye from the beginning.
“Skylar came to us a little later for a tryout, but when she came in, she was really fast in the back row,” Linville said. “We saw a lot of agility and skill from her in the back row and we are excited to implement that.”
Wooten is a very versatile player that played back row at Independence, as well as an outside hitter and a setter.
“When I played for Kevin, I played the back row my first two years,” Wooten said. “After my spine injury he tried to help me with a little bit of setting in hopes of taking some pressure off my back from diving and stuff like that. He helped me to be a great setter.”
Linville is convinced that Wooten’s versatility with be an asset for the Golden Bears.
“We have several really quick back row players and we hold our back row to a really high standard. Skylar is really going to be able compete with that,” Linville said. “There is also an opportunity in other areas as well. She came in and worked at setting. We would love to have her back row setting, so there is always a possibility for her to develop into a setter. We are excited to get her in and she what she can do.”
Bragg talked about his senior and the type of player she was for him over her four year career.
“She was an outstanding kid to coach. She always had a good attitude and was willing to do anything I asked her to do,” Bragg said. “She is a kid that will sacrifice her body and she will own it when she is having a bad day. She was a great leader and a great teammate”
“Skylar got better every year. Her ability to bounce back from her serious injury was just amazing. Skylar is the kid you want 10 of playing for you. She will be an asset to any team because she will put her head down and work hard. She will also do whatever you ask her to do and not complain.”
With the injury now behind her, Wooten is excited for the future, but her misfortune has also had a lasting effect on her life.
“I have always wanted to do sports management and maybe physical therapy,” Wooten said. “I want to help people like me that have been injured to help them get back into sports.”
