DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Daytona State Women’s Volleyball team takes things one day, one serve at a time.
“All right — serve!” Laura Stegall yells as the team begins practice.
It’s a mentality they get from their head coach.
“If I could describe Laura in one word,” sophomore middle hitter Alexis Thompson says. “It would definitely be resilient.”
She’s got the haircut to prove it.
“Ive had people come up and say man you look like the boss with your hair like that,” Stegall says laughing. “I say it’s not by choice and they say man I thought you wanted your hair like that.”
Her razor short hair might match her coaching style, but it’s a sign of a much bigger fight.
“January I noticed when I got home from Christmas a lump in my stomach,” Stegall remembers.
She thought it was just an injury, possibly a hernia. But when things hadn’t improved by February she knew something wasn’t right so she went to the emergency room for tests.
“That day I cried. The thought of not being there for those three kids was tough.”
The 39 year old healthy mother of three had ovarian cancer. The more she learned the worse it looked.
“My overly confident self in normal circumstances became quite defeated.”
Ovarian cancer patients are only given a 20% chance to ultimately beat the disease. With the help of her family, her team and assistant coach she prepared to take on her toughest opponent yet.
“I’ve told her this whole time I’m confident that she’ll beat this,” Daytona State’s assistant coach and Laura’s longtime friend Laura Booker Anderson says. “She’s a warrior. She knows nothing but to go all in on something.”
And that’s exactly what she did. She never missed a practice or a game. Her eight chemo treatments were finished just in time for the start of the season.
The Daytona State gym a constant reminder of a day she’ll never forget.
September 24th versus the College of Central Florida the community came together to show their support. Over 400 friends, family, and fans packed the gym. Signs filled the walls with messages like “Stegall Strong” and “You Can.”
Over the loud speakers the PA announcer said, “Coach Stegall was given the news that she is officially cancer free.”
The crowd erupted. Then Stegall’s husband Randy and her three kids came to give her a hug and some flowers. Stegall couldn’t hold the emotion in any longer.
“Just to reflect back on how we’ve gotten through these 8 months it was pretty emotional and I cry all the time now,” she says.
She appreciates the attention and the support but wants to make the future about raising ovarian cancer awareness. Like any good coach her message is simple.
“I’ve found that I just focus on today and hopefully by doing that I inspire other people to do the same when faced with big challenges in their life,” Stegall says. “My hope is ten years from now I’ll be like man I won a lot of days.”