Howard University women’s lacrosse alumna and U.S. sitting volleyball Paralympian Sydney Satchell has begun competing in the 2024 Paris Paralympics after a life-changing car accident in 2015.
Satchell began playing sitting volleyball in February 2016, 11 months after her leg amputation, at a sitting volleyball camp she was invited to. She moved to Oklahoma City in 2017 to start full-time training with the U.S. National Sitting Volleyball team as a libero. She became an official team member in 2019 and is making her Paralympic debut in this year’s games.
The trajectory of Satchell’s life shifted when she was involved in a car accident on her way to work in January 2015. She was driving on an icy road and attempted to evade the path of a pickup truck, but, instead, plowed into a tree that was stuck inside her car for 40 minutes. She was hospitalized from Jan. 15 to March 12, undergoing multiple surgeries and developing compartment syndrome before she made the decision to amputate her leg.
“Sydney definitely has that charismatic, contagious positivity energy to her,” Satchell’s mother, Candace Chester Mafe, Howard University class of 1995, told The Hilltop. “So, she told the doctors to cut off her leg so that she could live a good, full life.”
Throughout the triumphs, Satchell remained optimistic about the future. After she lost her leg, she never stopped or paused her life. She kept going and continued to inspire individuals with her optimistic outlook on life.
“She started calling this journey her new normal and faced it head on,” Mafe said. “She came up with this phrase of ‘celebrating my journey.’ She was thankful that she was alive and able to live. She didn’t lose her life, she lost her leg.”
Following the procedure, the doctors were amazed by Satchell’s attitude and strength and introduced her to sitting volleyball. Although Satchell had numerous volleyball friends in high school and throughout her undergraduate journey at Howard University, the lacrosse and volleyball seasons intersected, so she was never able to try the sport.
Satchell’s first time ever playing volleyball was when she chose to go for a spot on the U.S. Women’s National Sitting Team.
“In order for Sydney to flush out the desire to play sports and compete on a high level again, she decided in 2017 that she would move out to Oklahoma to train,” Mafe said. “There was no guarantee that she would make the team, but they welcomed her to come try it out.”
In 2019, Stachell became an official member of the U.S. Women’s National Sitting Team and an alternate player in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, but never had an actual chance to touch the court.
Satchell’s outgoing personality made the transition from lacrosse to volleyball smoother. With both being team sports, she quickly found community, reliance, trust and support in her participation with the U.S. Women’s National Sitting Team.
The U.S. Women’s Sitting Team are two-time reigning Paralympic champions and are awaiting the possibility of their third consecutive gold medal. They played their first match on Aug. 30, in which they fell short against two-time silver medalist China with a score of 3-1.
Satchell and her family stress the importance of inclusion in this year’s Paralympic games.
“Having the paralympic games highlights people’s abilities and not look at their disabilities as a deficit,” Mafe said.
For Stachell to now be participating in the largest stage as a Black woman, she stresses the importance of inclusion and representation.
“It is an opportune time for Black women to prevail and for [Sydney] to be on a worldwide stage and make her contribution,” Mafe said.
Satchell was a member of the Howard University women’s lacrosse team for three years of her undergraduate studies. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2014, receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in sports management while minoring in psychology.
Howard University’s athletic department has honored Satchell’s strength, perseverance and athletic commitment throughout the triumphs she has faced with The Sydney Satchell Award for Perseverance.
“It means so much that something I did on this earth was so impactful that Howard would honor somebody else in my name,” Satchell told Howard Athletics Consultant Rob Knox. “It is an acknowledgement that everything that I did was worth it and my story is not in vain.”
Howard University women’s lacrosse head coach Karen Healy-Silcott emphasized the beauty of sports’ ability to include individuals of all levels and abilities. She believes that those participating in sports with disabilities experience the same benefits as those without.
“I often talk to my team about the need to succeed when the odds are against you and how to persevere when things are not easy,” Healy-Silcott said. “It is obvious that Sydney embraces those aspects of my coaching philosophies.”
Healy-Silcott underlines the significance of representation for all athletes and individuals. She feels that it should not be understated.
“Sydney is in a position to inspire a lot of people with her dedication to sport, and the Howard Women’s Lacrosse team is cheering her on from the sidelines,” she said.
Quai Skeete-Ridley is a fifth-year nursing student from New Carrollton, Maryland, and an attack/midfielder on the Howard University women’s lacrosse team. In her freshman year, she had the pleasure of meeting Satchell and hearing her story, which she described as “empowering and influential.”
“She exemplifies resilience and grit when in the face of adversity, leaving a significant impact on our HBCU lacrosse team,” Skeete-Ridley said. “The impact she contributes does not only stop with our team but she continues to inspire all HBCU student-athletes embodying perseverance and strength.”
Satchell leads with an unwavering belief that she is never alone in this walk and that Christ is with her at every opportunity. She is described by those around her as a committed and dedicated person with a servant’s heart.
“Her new phrase is ‘left foot first’,” Mafe said. “Although she doesn’t have any leftover foot, her faith is what guides her through life.”
Throughout her journey, Satchell’s purpose is to remind everyone to celebrate their journey no matter where it leads them. Satchell uses her faith, encouragement and gifts to help connect and inspire others on their own journeys.
Copy edited by Jalyn Lovelady
