With All Your Heart
All-BIG EAST Freshman Lauren Hanlon tells her story
Mark Leopold, Xavier Athletics Communications
12/10/2019
"With All Your Heart" details the story of All-BIG EAST Freshman, Lauren Hanlon. Through multiple crushing setbacks in her first two years with Xavier, the incredible fight and perseverance of Hanlon is truly inspiring. In the Xavier feature-length film below, Hanlon, her family, her friends, and her coaches detail her winding journey.
As her high school career came to an end, Lauren Hanlon had just decommitted from her original college destination in October of her senior season, leaving little time for the aspiring student-athlete to find her home. Among the schools that the Illinois native was considering was Xavier. Head Coach Christy Pfeffenberger saw her tape, and the coaching staff were able to travel to watch her play as soon as January. Impressed, the coaches invited her to see Xavier's campus and ensure a good fit. Hanlon and her family fell in love with Cincinnati, the campus, and the people. Hanlon knew she found her home.
The impact was felt as soon as she stepped on the practice court in late July. As she took drills and put effort into each swing, the team around her felt the challenge that the incoming freshman was giving them right at the start of preseason. Anyone who saw her practice knew that she had a chance to play meaningful points and she potentially start in matches as soon as the season began. However, on the seventh day of practice, tragedy struck.
On Tuesday, August 15, 2017, in a routine speed-receive drill, Hanlon went up for normal swing, but as she landed, something didn't feel right. Even though she had previously dislocated her kneecap in her freshman year of high school, Hanlon immediately knew that it wasn't going to be as easy as popping it back into place this time. Lauren Hanlon had torn her MPFL and fractured part of her kneecap.
Coach Pfeffenberger remembers Hanlon's initial reaction:
"At first [Hanlon] didn't cry, and I can only imagine how painful that is, but then she started to cry not because of the pain, but because she was [angry] that she couldn't play any more in
preseason. We didn't know the extent of the injury, what happened really, and she was just [so angry] that she couldn't be on the floor. She's thinking about her team in a time when she could easily just think about herself and 'oh, woe is me'. Her first reaction was to be with her team. That says a lot about an individual."
Hanlon was devastated. In just over a week with Xavier, her season was over. The initial rehab estimate was that she would be back in 6-9 months. Despite feeling empty and hollow, she was driven to overcome the injury and immediately started to work in the weight room.
Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Jake Lerman helped her through very elementary movements and lightweight exercises, but Hanlon described the initial steps as excruciating and frustrating. It was immediately clear: the original recovery timeline was going to be extended as Hanlon slowly worked through the steps as best as her knee would allow.
She was on crutches for 12 weeks, and she wore a heavy brace to protect her injured leg. Among her first memories of progress was being able to unlock the brace so that she could simply sleep more comfortably. Eventually, she was able to lose the crutches in place of a compression sleeve. Hanlon was emotional as she progressed, but the recovery was still slow.
In March, eight months after her injury and towards the end of her initial recovery timeline, Hanlon was still unable to run. To help her knee regain strength and agility, doctors performed PRP and stem cell injections which helped significantly. On May 18, 2018, she had a breakthrough.
Hanlon described the first time she ran in almost a year, "It was like five miles an hour. It was barely a run, but I was so proud of myself. That was such a good day!"
Hanlon stayed on campus over the summer to continue her rehab, and as the season approached, she knew she wouldn't be ready to play right away, but she remained hopeful that she could get on the court by mid-season.
Sure enough, while on the bench for a non-conference match at Purdue, Coach Pfeffenberger gave the call, "Hanlon! Go warm up!" She was nervous and excited. While she admits that she didn't play her best minutes, she was happy to be back on the floor. However, after being unable to play volleyball for over a year, Hanlon knew she wasn't quite mentally ready to step into the season just yet.
After taking a medical redshirt in her first year, she was eligible for a traditional redshirt in 2018. Weighing her options, her physical ability and her mental state, Hanlon had to decide if she could wait another year and prepare for a six-year stay at Xavier. After long discussions with her family, her friends and her coaches, she thought it was best to reset and prepare to attack the 2019 season.
While continuing to build strength in her leg and come to terms with her situation, Hanlon embraced what the Xavier strength staff calls "Squatober", a month of heavy leg workouts throughout October. Hanlon took this as an opportunity to channel her energy, and she says she felt so much better mentally and physically. Her knee was responding and she was confident.
In January of 2019, Hanlon was participating in weight training and hip rotations. She felt her ab getting sore, but she was determined to make her swing better. Then as she swung her arms and extended on a broad jump, she felt a pop.
Dejected, Lauren recalls,
"It hurt really bad, so I went to the training staff and they said [that I had strained my ab]. I was out two or three weeks. It was really frustrating, having to be out again. It was like finally my knee felt good enough to do the things I wanted it to do, but the rest of my body was like 'nope, you're not doing it.'"
Following her relatively brief recovery, on her very first swing of spring practice, a different ab muscle gave her that same sinking feeling. Out again, Hanlon cried every day. She felt as though she couldn't catch a break.
Of course, she fought until she could play in some spring exhibitions, and she knew she was still on track to play in the 2019 regular season. While out of the state for an internship over the summer, Hanlon took it upon herself to continue to work hard and eat well, knowing the Xavier staff would not be around her.
Jake Lerman remembers the lengths Hanlon took to stay in shape,
"Our goal is to just make sure that our girls are maintaining their fitness levels over the summer so that when they come back for camp, they're ready to go. I'm just laughing to myself because I know she's always ready to train and get after it. Picturing her running in a parking garage while people are pulling in and out, thinking to themselves 'what is this girl doing?', that just cracks me up. That's such a Hanlon move. Get it done."
When she returned to campus, she was ready to go. As a redshirt freshman, she was elected as a captain by her team, cementing the support and trust they had had in her over her lengthy return. On the court, she felt good too. She was focused, loose, and having fun. Hanlon wasted no time before being named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week after her very first tournament in Utah.
Hanlon played in all 28 matches in 2019, garnering 11 starts and 101 total sets. She tallied a team-high 255 kills at a .241 hitting percentage. Defensively, she accumulated 65 blocks, the most blocks behind Xavier's two middle blockers.
Lauren Hanlon became the first Xavier player in program history to be named to the All-BIG EAST Freshman Team after being named a two-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week and earning two All-Tournament team honors.
