BOULDER - Jace Holley’s season didn’t start with a whistle and a kickoff. It started with an ankle injury, a long rehab grind and a wait that stretched far beyond what she first expected.
The Colorado junior forward was hurt Aug. 5 in an exhibition against Utah in Grand Junction, just a week before the Buffs were set to begin the regular season. At first, she believed it was only a minor roll and that she might be back in about a week. Then the MRI changed everything.
"I think when I was feeling the most sad was after I got my MRI back," Holley said.
The setback forced her out of Colorado’s first nine matches, and the early weeks were as much a mental test as a physical one. She couldn’t practice, so her days were filled with physical therapy and rehab - three or four hours at a time, she estimated, not counting the work she did at home.
Some days felt like progress. Others felt like a step backward.
"I was getting really frustrated mentally when I would be worse one day than I was the day before," Holley said.
Colorado’s athletic training staff and teammates helped steady her through the ups and downs. Several had dealt with injuries before, and they reminded her that healing doesn’t move in a straight line.
"They would tell me what I was having trouble seeing myself," Holley said. "It really helped me on the mental side."
As her ankle improved, another hurdle popped up: getting her fitness back without pushing so hard that she risked another setback. That balance became one of the toughest parts of the recovery process.
"The hardest part was, as I was getting into the later weeks of recovery, finding a balance between coming back and working hard, but also resting and recovering as well," Holley said.
Her first clearance to return didn’t go the way she hoped. In that first practice back, she didn’t feel like herself.
"I felt like I was a step slow, and I felt like I couldn't push off my ankle like normal," she said. "It was really frustrating because I was cleared by the doctors, but I still wasn't performing to my level."
Colorado held her out another two or three weeks.
When she got the green light a second time, things finally started to click. She could move the way she wanted again, and practice started to feel normal.
"I was like, I can do this," Holley said. "I'm feeling better. I'm feeling normal."
Her first game back came Sept. 24, when Colorado beat then-No. 10 West Virginia 2-0 at Prentup Field. It had been more than seven weeks since she’d played in a match.
Even after proving herself in practice, the jump back into competition brought a different kind of challenge.
"I would say that feeling practice ready and feeling game ready are two different things," Holley added. "I was definitely physically ready, but I was definitely scared mentally to come back because the games are a high level, and I just was scared to let my team down."
Once she got involved in the action, that tension started to ease. Touches on the ball helped her settle in and trust herself again.
"I really had to let my body do what it could do for my mind to catch up to speed," she said.
Her minutes climbed over the next two matches, and by the time Colorado faced then-No. 7 Baylor on Oct. 8, she was ready for a bigger impact. In her fourth appearance of the season, she delivered both her first assist and her first goal in the Buffs’ 3-0 win.
Holley helped create Hope Leyba’s second goal late in the first half, then scored on a diving header off Sloane Phillips’ cross in the 68th minute. Afterward, head coach Danny Sanchez called the finish a "world-class finish."
"I thought she gave us a real spark," Sanchez said after the Baylor win. "That's a Jace goal."
The moment meant plenty to Holley, but even more to her because of how her teammates reacted.
"What means more to me is how my teammates celebrated me and how my teammates were more excited for me than I was," Holley said. "That really means a lot, and it really builds my confidence as well."
Her teammates kept the celebration going during her postgame TV interview, sneaking up to douse her with water.
"I think everybody supports everybody, and they know how hard it's been for her to get back to this spot," Sanchez added. "She's still not 100 percent, but this is a good stepping stone tonight."
Holley said the support from teammates who pushed her in practice and held her to high standards mattered just as much.
"It just means they're always there to support me," she continued.
Looking ahead, Holley believes Colorado has one of the most talented groups of individuals she has played with at CU. She sees the rest of the season as a chance for the team to sharpen its chemistry and show more of what it can do together.
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