It would be easy to confuse Penn State head women’s volleyball coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley and Carmen San Diego, known for being all over the place.
For Schumacher-Cawley it’s been non-stop since last season ended with a national championship.
Now, while life has been crazy, it’s returned to normal at the same time.
Penn State has returned to practices, gearing up for a title defense.
This journey has taken Schumacher-Cawley to Philadelphia for her cancer treatments, Los Angeles for the ESPYs where she received the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, Chicago and Wrigley Field and now just down the road from Rec Hall at Medlar Field and Lubrano Park for her bobblehead night with the State College Spikes.
“I’m not gonna lie, I honestly have not felt like I’ve slowed down since the season,” Shumacher-Cawley told Nittany Sports Now. “I was finishing treatment and had surgery in the spring and all that. So I just feel like it’s been, it’s been that never ending, constant movement. But that’s my life, and I’m okay with that.”
With Penn State’s national championship, she became the first woman to win a national championship as a head coach in women’s volleyball, all while battling breast cancer.
“It’s crazy, because I never, I never really thought of it as like that as being the first female to win, and I’m so proud to represent Penn State and to be a part of this program that I was just so happy for the university and for the program and for all of the alumni that have come before me to be able to get that win,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “It’s hard to win, and I’m proud of the team and what we’ve done and what we’ve been able to continue on since coach Russ Rose has been here.”
Schumacher-Cawley excelled under Rose, winning the 1999 National Championship and becoming a two-time All-American. She also spent four years coaching alongside Rose before his retirement.
“There’s no one that will replace him, and for me, being an alum and then coaching with him for four seasons beforebeing the head coach is something that is just, it’s really special,” Shumacher-Cawley said. “I love this place and the community and everyone involved in Penn State. It’s really something special to be in this spot.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.The community, Penn State fans and the University all came together to support Schumacher-Cawley last season as she went through her breast cancer treatments while still coaching. She and her staff kept it business as usual and the results were incredible.
“We didn’t skip a beat. The players didn’t skip a beat,” Schumaker-Cawley said. “When I first told them, I said it was going to be business as usual, and I wanted them to stay focused on what they were trying to do. The staff means the world to me, and definitely has been with me through some of the toughest times of my life, and so I think just having those people around you definitely made it a lot easier for me, and I don’t take them for granted one bit.”
The road to remission is a long and winding one for Schumacher-Cawley and it’s not quite over.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“I’m feeling really good. I’m feeling healthy right now,” she said. “I’m completing maintenance chemo, so I’m still doing some chemo. I have about seven more rounds of that, so that will take me through the season, but I won’t lose my hair with this chemo, which is good. I’ll have surgery in January, the last surgery I have to have.”
Battling cancer takes a village to handle and work through daily life and the chemo process. For Schumacher-Cawley she’s grateful for her team, her staff and her family who have been by her side through it all.
“I’m still in it, but it’s definitely a little bit easier on my body,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “Like I’ve said a million times, I have the best staff in the world, and I’m surrounded by people who are constantly, always helping and making this easier for me.”
Normalcy awaits Katie Schumacher-Cawley with the season ramping up and the regular season beginning Aug. 23.
“It’s been a lot of fun, but I’m happy to be back in town and just ready to get with this team and work,” Schumacher-Cawley said.
