4B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2008
CRESSY
(CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Like her, they are all hearing-impaired athletes. Like her, they are all departing for the Deaflympics in Melbourne, Australia.
"It kind of hit her then what this all meant," Rhonda said.
At 14, Cressy is an Olympian. Two weeks later she will be an Olympic gold medalist.
The gregarious "team baby"
The gregari starts all seven games for the Americans at left defender, scoring a goal in the preliminary rounds against Russia and co-captaining the team when veteran Erin Coppedge is rested for the semifinal.
"It was a hard time for Emily, and the most I've seen her struggle with it."
"I was the smallest one" Cressy said, grinning at the thought.
Surrounded by so many successful deaf athletes and role models, Cressy soaked up everything about the games. She matured. She gained perspective. And she found even more friends who shared a passion for soccer.
"Maybe if she did it now, five years later, it would be a totally different experience," Rhonda said. "But I think for being such a young person it was just an eye-opener for her."
--gone. She was deaf. And she was devastated.
The day was always coming - case of when rather than if.
Cressy was a sixth-grader when she first noticed the hearing in her right ear starting to fade. It didn't stop. For the next four years, her hearing deteriorated until the day the doctors had warned Rhonda about finally came.
One day Cressy, now a sophomore at Ventura High School, removed the hearing aid in her right ear for good. The little hearing she had in her right ear was
"It was a hard time for Emily, and the most I've seen her struggle with it." Rhonda said. "She was almost able to accept what she had, even though it wasn't 100 percent."
Weston White/KANSAN
The loss took its toll.
All her life Cressy had blended in remarkably with the help of hearing aids. She could pick up most conversations around her. She didn't have many deaf friends other than the acquaintances in her classes at school.
RHONDA CRESSY Mother of Emily Cressy
Freshman forward Emily Cressy settles a ball during the first half against Auburn. Cressy has five goals and two assists so far during her first season as a Jayhawk.
Cressy stayed home from school. She cried. Her family and friends grieved with her, devastated to see their daughter, sister and teammate in such a
dark place.
They also celebrated with her when Cressy bounced back and picked up where she had left off, in the place she always felt comfortable; the soccer field.
She transferred to nearby Buena High, where she had more friends. Buena was closer to home too and offered all the academic assistance Cressy needed.
Under coach Trish Butterbaugh, she made the move to forward from left midfield after an injury kept one her teammates on the sidelines for an extended period. Cressy's talent with a ball at her feet shone through once again. Butterbaugh made the move permanent, and the results were immediate.
"It completely changed the dynamic of our team," Butterbaugh said.
Cressy scored 16 goals and passed out 11 assists as a senior and was named player of the year in Ventura County. She carried Buena in the playoffs, finding the back of the net six times but narrowly missing out on a trip to the state finals after losing in the semifinals on Buena's home field.
"We lost in penalty kicks," Cressy said. "It happens."
Recruitment letters steadily found their way into the Cressys' mailbox. Some of the elite schools on the West Coast showed interest in Cressy. UCLA. Pepperdine.
But she wasn't so sure she wanted to be close to home. Cressy wanted to see what was out there. See where she fit best. Where she felt most comfortable.
She caught Kansas coach Mark Francis' eye. Like so many coaches before him, he liked what he saw.
--goal-scorer. So Francis made the 120-mile drive to Los Angeles to watch Cressy and the Eagles play.
One month into Cressy's junior year of high school, she found the school she had been searching for. The California girl was heading to the Midwest.
Kansas was playing in a September tournament in San Diego. The Jayhawks needed a
"When you're recruiting, anyone who scores goals automatically catches your attention," Francis said.
He invited Cressy to watch the Jayhawk play that weekend against San Diego and No. 15 Pepperdine. They split the pair, losing to Peppardine 3-2, but Cressy loved Kansas' style of play. It was similar to the one the Eagles employed and enough to convince Cressy to make an unofficial visit to Lawrence.
One visit was all it took. Cressy didn't hesitate. The campus was beautiful, the people were friendly and the soccer program played to her strengths as a player. Kansas was where she wanted to be.
"It really felt like a family, like I belonged here," she said.
Cressy wanted to commit right away, but Rhonda wasn't so sure. She didn't want 1,640 miles separating her from her daughter. After all, she reminded Cressy, it was the first of her college visits.
But her daughter didn't waver. It was Kansas or bust. Cressy committed. She was a Jayhawk.
"I wanted to keep her close to me." Rhonda said.
When Cressy finally arrived on campus in early August 2007, it looked as though she had made the right choice. Her roommate, freshman defender Lauren Jackson, was from just down the road in Long Beach. The two already knew each other from the California club soccer scene.
But only a few weeks into her fresh man campaign, her mental state took a crushing blow. With the help of the coaching staff and her advisor, Cressy decided to redshirt in order to focus on balancing the rigors of a collegiate course load and the demands of college athletics.
She could practice, but she couldn't dress or travel with the team. Soccer, her competitive escape, was gone, and she had trouble adapting. Most of all she was lonely.
By spring break Cressy was doubting her choice. She missed her family and friends. Without competing on the field she felt alone and separated from the rest of the team. On one of many visits home, Cressy told her parents she didn't want to go back.
"I didn't really get to bond with the team as much as I wanted to," Cressy said.
"She is a natural goal-scorer. How well she does and how many goals she scores is really up to her."
Her parents didn't give in that easily.
"As much as we wanted her to be close to us,we encouraged her that she had to give it a try," Rhonda said.
So Cressy stuck it out. She got her academics straightened out. Her interpreter, Kansas alumna Catie Johnson, still accompanies her to class, practice and every game. The summer brought the ultimate reward for her patience.
MARK FRANCIS Kansas soccer coach
Kansas spent nine days in soccer-obsessed Brazil training, playing exhibition games and generally enjoying the locale. More importantly, Cressy was back on the field. And she was determined to contribute after a year spent looking on.
So far it seems that way. Cressy has scored five times in 10 games; meanwhile Kansas finished non-conference play with six victories
Afterward, Francis raves about Cressy's composure and ability to conjure chances from nothing. It's become a common occurrence with Francis. He has been predicting big things from Cressy since before the season began in August.
"She is a natural goal-scorer," Francis said. "How well she does and how many goals she scores is really up to her."
center forward. And in the games that followed she took advantage of the opportunity.
With a defender on her hip, she instinctively pivots and fires past a frozen goalkeeper, sending the Kansas bench into hysterics and Francis leaping off the bench to unleash a ferocious fist pump.
--for the first time since 2004, the last time it made the NCAA tournament.
This day is no different. Auburn is four minutes away from recording a hard-fought draw before Cressy turns an innocuous clearance from Jackson into a 2-1 Kansas victory. The Tigers allow Jackson's boot to bounce in the penalty area, committing one of soccer's cardinal sins. Cressy makes them pay dearly.
When the first practices rolled around in August, Cressy's play made her Francis' first-choice
"She doesn't let anyone tell her something she can't do," Jackson said. "If she puts her mind to it, she can do it."
Cressy is always lurking. Always ready to spring onto a loose ball or a hopeful pass behind the defense. She's a pure score, and she rarely finds herself denied.
Cressy hasn't had a sniff all day.
Not that it matters.
Weston White/KANSAN
a freshman and owns nearly every one of Kansas' offensive records.
Those records could one day belong to Cressy. If her current pace is any indication — Cressy is on pace to score 10 goals this season — Smith's record could be in jeopardy. It's something Francis posed as a legitimate possibility before Cressy had played a game in crimson and blue.
"Her awareness is great," Francis said of his newest freshman sensation. "Because she can't hear, she has to have that much more awareness tactically."
Cressy admits her right foot could still use some work, but she has three more years to whip her
Freshman forward Emily Cressy (21) looks to her interpreter during halftime to see what the coach Mark Francis said. Cressy has quickly become a key element of this year's team.
weaker peg into shape. Three more years as a Jawhawk.
It's a bright, clear September afternoon. Practice is over, and Kansas' 28 players gradually file away to the locker rooms to clean up and change.
Cressy chats with teammates. A giant grin covers her face. She is busy but happy. She is studying to be a teacher, and she hopes to one day give professional soccer a try.
"My life is just school, soccer, sleep," Cressy said.
In between she fits in time with her boyfriend, her friends on the softball team and, of course, Facebook. After a season on the outskirts, Cressy finally feels like part of the team.
"Emily has a great heart," senior midfielder Jessica Bush said.
Barring injury or a sudden fall in
form, Cressy should start all 19 of Kansas' games this season. She just wants to improve. And she wants to help lead the Jayhawks to their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2004.
She stays in touch with her family and her former teammates on the Eagles by webcam. She talks, they type. Cressy still misses California. But the transfer talk is ancient history.
She's savoring the college experience, loving her life in Lawrence. Just like everyone else.
The deaf national team is beckoning again as well. The Deaflympics are on the horizon, beginning next fall in Chinese Taipei. The timing will mean Cressy probably won't be able to join her teammates until the after the national team's two-week training camp preceding the games.
Edited by Scott R. Toland
Weston White/KANSAN
Freshman forward Emily Cressy, right, introduces herself to fellow classmate Jessica Habluebert, Olathe junior, during a behavioral sciences class in Malott Hall Friday afternoon. After taking a redshirt last year, she has helped the Jayhawks to a 7-3 record so far this season.