Heart of the Axe: Sarah Delorey

Heart of the Axe is a weekly feature from the perspective of Axemen and Axewomen student-athletes. It dives deeper into why they decided to attend Acadia, what drives them athletically, how they got started in their sport, the impact Acadia has had on them during their time in Wolfville and much more. 

This week's feature athlete is fourth-year basketball Axewoman and kinesiology major Sarah Delorey. Delorey talks about a pair of injuries during the 2023-24 season that sidelined her until the AUS championship, how she overcame them both mentally and physically, the change in perspective that gave her, plus what it means to be back on the court now.

In November of last year, I suffered my first real injury while playing basketball for the Axewomen.

It was a routine practice, and I cut to the hoop from the short corner and rolled my ankle.

I’ve always had bad ankles, so I didn’t think much of it at the time.

After practice, my ankle was still sore, so I went to get an x-ray, and it turned out that I had a small avulsion fracture.

I was forced to sit out for two months.

I returned to practice after Christmas and started to get sharp pains in my Achilles tendon.

It was thought to be Achilles tendinitis, which kept me out of basketball for another month and a half, coming back just in time for the AUS championships.

As a fourth-year forward for Acadia University’s women’s basketball program, I’ve had a lot of ups and downs during my time here in Wolfville, but last year was one of the most difficult seasons I’ve ever experienced.

But, thanks to a lot of hard work and help from the people around me, I’ve come back stronger, and I’m looking forward to what we can accomplish on the court this season.

Positive moments before being sidelined

I have so many memorable moments since beginning here at Acadia, but my favourite one has to be winning the AUS championship in my first year.

It was such an exciting game overall against Cape Breton, we came back from being down, and it was just so thrilling and fun.

Another favourite memory of mine was when we went to nationals in my second year and finished fifth. Although we lost our first game, we bounced back and won the next two, both being such fun and exciting games to play in.

I always knew I wanted to go to a small school with a close-knit community that wasn’t too far away from home and had an amazing basketball and academic program.

Acadia fit this perfectly.

When I started talking to Coach Len (Harvey), I knew it was where I was meant to go.

It has been the best decision I have made, and I am so grateful for all the people I’ve met here and the experiences I’ve had.

The frustration of injuries 

Being injured last year was incredibly frustrating for me.

I had to sit out a total of 18 games, and it was tough to watch my teammates compete when I couldn’t be out there with them.

My motivation was pretty simple – get back to playing as soon as I could.

Although at times it seemed like the day would never come when I would get cleared, I found a way to enjoy the process and grind out the rehab because eventually, I would be back to playing, and I wanted to be as ready as possible.

There’s been a few moments since I’ve returned to playing where I’ve felt proud, but my first game back at AUS last year is what first comes to mind.

Although that game didn’t go the way we wanted to, with it being my first game back, I felt so relieved and happy to be playing again.

Back on the court

The main person who helped me get through these injuries was our team’s athletic therapist, Whitney (Gallant).

She was the person I saw the most through my recovery, and she did everything in her power to help me get back to basketball.

She was an overall amazing person in my support system during this time.

The key contributing factor in helping me get through injury rehab was the drive to get back and play as much of the season as possible.

I hated missing one game, let alone 18.

But it gave me motivation to work hard in my rehab so I could get back as soon as possible.

It’s hard to describe how happy I was to be back on the court.

I just felt a huge sense of relief that I was finally healthy again and able to play the sport I love.

A greater perspective

My experience last year changed my perspective in basketball and in life. It reminded me to enjoy every little part of the journey, the good parts and the hard parts, as you never know when something could be taken from you.

I used to hate certain aspects of the grind, such as conditioning days, but even though they still aren’t my favourite, I’ve come to appreciate them because I get to get better, and who knows when the last time I get that opportunity will be.

I’d tell someone who’s going through the same thing I went through to keep pushing.

It is hard, but it is so rewarding and worth it.

I would also tell them to find a person who they can lean on when they need it because some days are harder than others, and you just need someone to give you that extra push and remind you it’s worth it.

My biggest takeaway from overcoming the injury was to never take the time to play for granted because, like I said, you never know when the last time you play may be.