Former point guard Sarah Griffin shares her story of injury, recovery and moving forward
(-- The Beacon)
By Bruce Garlinghouse Staff Writer garlingh13@up.edu
In the years leading up to fulfilling her childhood goal of signing with the University of Portland, junior Sarah Griffin was in a constant battle with her body and naysayers.
People told her she was too small to play D-1 basketball. She has had nearly every injury a basketball player can suffer, including sprained and broken ankles, concussions and shoulder and knee injuries. But none of these ever stopped her from reaching The Bluff.
"I am from around here. I grew up with Pilots basketball and that is where I wanted to play," Griffin said.
But, five games into her freshman year, she suffered a back injury during a workout.
To her, it was just another injury, another speedbump, just like the ones she has survived throughout the rest of her playing days.
For nearly two years, she woke up at 4:30 a.m. to swim – the only cardio she could do – and then headed to practice to continue rehab. To her, playing was always a possibility.
"I have had tons of injuries so I was optimistic about this one," Griffin said. "But when we weren't seeing the progress we had hoped for I had started to worry."
After spending some time at home this summer with her family, she made the decision to receive surgery and give up basketball.
"It was a tough decision, but I had to consider my quality of life," she said. "My family noticed I was in pain. I would sleep in a different place every night because I couldn't make it to my bed. My brother noticed I couldn't bend over to pick up a basketball when we were shooting."
Not only has Griffin given up a huge part of her life, the Pilots have lost a talented point guard. At Jesuit High School, Griffin led her team in assists and steals her junior year despite missing half the season with a knee injury. Her senior season she was a preseason McDonalds All-American and
Although unable to help her team on the court, Sarah will be helping them through marketing and spreading interest about the team and women's basketball in general.
"I am excited about what I'm doing. Right now attendance to our games sucks and I look forward to getting more people there," she said.
Griffin was on scholarship for basketball, and when she made the decision to quit, she opted to give it up.
"I love this team and I felt selfish keeping a scholarship they could use to recruit somebody to help them," she said.
But assistant coach Sean Kelley was able to allow her to keep it upon certain conditions which require Sarah to spend a certain amount of hours in the sports office.
"He told me that I had earned it and that I should be able to keep it. The amount of hours I work is about the same as when I was playing so there is really no difference," she said with a laugh.
Griffin said she now looks forward to having more time to visit family, including her brother, Connor, who goes to University of Oregon, as well as being able to pursue other interests.
A workout fiend, Griffin has begun biking and running and hopes to compete in half marathons and marathons soon.
"I realized that it wasn't just basketball that I loved," she said. "I love being the best at something and now I have the opportunity to do that with something else."
(-- The Beacon)
