Kelly's catcher returns to the field after two torn ACLs

~ After rigorous rehab, Brittany Brantley is back behind the plate as the Hawks head to state.

Kelly catcher Brittany Brantley felt more than pain when she tore her left anterior cruciate ligament, meniscus and medial collateral ligament playing softball in May 2006.

Brantley had just recovered from a tear of her right ACL, so thoughts of another major surgery, an additional four months of physical therapy and the possibility she would never again catch a ballgame rushed through her mind.

"I was really scared because I knew it was really hard to recover and they told me they didn't know if I would catch and that's all I really do when it comes to softball," she said. "I knew what was coming. The therapy was really, really nerve-racking. You get physically and mentally exhausted from going."

Brantley's second ACL tear happened while she was running down the first-base line, trying for an infield single. Her first tear, only five months earlier, occurred while saving a basketball that was headed out of bounds during a Kelly junior varsity game in December 2005.

Because of the second incident, Brantley was forced to miss her entire sophomore softball season last fall and she watched from the dugout as the Hawks advanced all way to the state final four. But she worked during that time and throughout the offseason to rebuild the strength in her left knee. The time she spent rehabilitating it has paid off.

She is back in the Hawks lineup now as a junior. She is the starting catcher and the No. 5 hitter with a .368 average and 15 runs batted in. And she has helped the Hawks return to the state final four for a second straight year and for the 11th time in school history.

Kelly plays Palmyra on Friday at the Rainbow Softball Complex in Columbia, Mo.

Brantley does feel pain when she plays, but would much rather be on the field than sitsitting on the bench because of her passion for catching.

"This year I'll be the one in the game, calling the pitches," Brantley said. "State is really big and I'm very excited to be a part of it."

Brittany Brantley is batting .368 this season for the Hawks.

Kelly coach Rhonda Ratledge said Brantley was extremely upset after the second injury.

"At that point in time, she pretty much thought her softball career was over, especially the catching," Ratledge said. "She's not a quick player as far as running, so she was worried if she didn't catch where would she play?

"I kept telling her, 'You're young. You'll be able to bounce back. Work at it; go through your therapy.'"

Love for catching

Brantley's passion for catching began when she first started playing softball in the third grade.

Chuck Bridges, who has been her stepfather since she was 2 years old, coached her youth league teams and introduced her to the position. Bridges played the position in high school and also later in independent league baseball.

"I always heard dad tell stories about all the plays and how fun it was catching, so I thought I wanted to try it," she said. "I've played different positions throughout the years but I've always caught."

Brantley played right field on Kelly's varsity team as a freshman. Summer Proctor, who graduated last spring, was the main catcher. Brantley said she adjusted somewhat to the outfield, but added that she will always feel most comfortable and confident as a catcher.

"I know I had her back there in T-ball," Bridges said. "But her first actual game was when she was about 8 or 9 years old. She seemed to enjoy it and has pretty much done it ever since."

After the second ACL tear, Brantley went through four months of physical therapy at Mid-America Rehab in Cape Girardeau, consisting of three-hour sessions three times each week. At first the therapy was centered on her bending, straightening and lifting the knee. As time progressed, she began to perform leg lifts, lunges and squatting before working her way into more intense activities such as jumping and sprinting.

She would also perform leg lifts, squats and lunges each day at home, her mother, Kellie Bridges, said.

Her parents said the daily grind of the therapy was often difficult on her but it did not outweigh her desire to return to her favorite position.

Chuck said that the physical therapists told him if Brantley was serious about playing catcher again she would have to take all her rehab seriously and work as hard as she could. He added that there were days she would end her training in tears.

"It was not always something she wanted to do," Kellie said. "But any time she would not want to do it, all we would have to say is 'Brittany, do you want to catch?' And as soon as we would say that she would go right at it."

Bench duties

Ratledge calls Brantley a "die-hard softball girl."

"I'll tell you how die-hard she is," Ratledge said. "When we played Crystal City in the championship game in districts, there was a little girl who stole on her. And she hollered at me [the next time], 'Coach is this the girl who stole on me?' And I said, 'Yep.' And she said, 'She won't do it twice.' And sure enough she gunned her down. But that's just her."

While Brantley was injured, her passion for softball still made her want to be a part of the team. She attended the games and practices of both her summer league team and then the Kelly team. She even traveled to Peoria, Ill., a week after her second major surgery to watch her summer team play in the NSA World Series. She found a physical therapy center in Illinois for that brief period.

Still, even though she was able to wear the uniform and sit on the bench, she was upset because she could not do what she loved.

"There were times after games -- and no one ever saw this but me -- but she would be in tears just because she wanted to be out there so bad," Kellie said. "She felt like she was not doing her part to help the team. We had a lot of that."

Brantley said she helped out both teams as much as she could. But it was a disappointing time.

"It was really tough because I'm not the type who can sit the bench and feel OK with it, especially knowing I couldn't do anything for the team," she said. "If we had a bad game all I could do was put the strikeouts in the book."

Back behind the plate

Brantley hasn't experienced an easy transition back behind the plate. But her passion for the position outweighs all the aches she has felt.

"I can feel the pain," Brantley said. "I don't think about it until I get back into the dugout, and I'm like, 'Oh man, my knees are feeling [pain] and I can feel it get loose.

"It's hard on my knees. But the pain doesn't surpass me wanting to be behind the plate and playing my game."

Brantley has had to work especially hard on popping up from out of her crouch and being able to cover the bunts, two areas where a catcher needs to be mobile and can cause some of the most difficult strain on the knees.

Ratledge said Brantley has often asked her to remain after practice to throw to her so the junior catcher can work on her techniques.

"She does not complain at all," Ratledge said. "If I tell her to put the gear on she gets it on and down she goes and catches and she does not complain, not one bit.

"She has pained her way through it and she would never, never let me know it."

Ratledge has given Brantley the authority to call all the pitches for both Hawks hurlers, Heather Beggs and Jessica Riley.

Brantley takes an ibuprofen before games and ices and exercises her knees afterward. She said at first she would get a little nervous that another injury or tear might occur, but now she is relaxed and again has a passion for some of the most difficult plays at her position.

"I like the moments out there like the plays at the plate when it all comes down to not even a second on whether the girl is out or not," Brantley said. "I like when the runners try to take out the catchers because they think that will make me drop the ball -- as long as I don't drop it, which I never have so far."

Brantley's ultimate goal is to catch in college. But right now she is excited about being the Hawks' catcher in Columbia on Friday.

And her family said Brantley's excitement about the upcoming state tournament is off the charts.

Kelly catcher Brittany Brantley missed playing in the state final four last year because she was recovering from a torn ACL. (Aaron Eisenhauer)

"On a scale of 1 to 10, she is probably a 12," Chuck said. "I can't even put it into words."