When freshman midfielder Anna Schueler stood on the field at Villanova for the first game in Michigan women’s lacrosse history, excitement rushed through her veins. Standing by her teammates’ sides, wearing the Block ‘M’ on her uniform for the first game in program history, Anna was experiencing something few Michigan athletes have before.
But it was the No. 9 on her jersey that was stronger. She didn’t wear it because her favorite professional athlete wore the number, she wore it because one of her favorite people did before he passed away — Henry Schueler, her brother.
“My parents and I were wishing he was there but we knew he really was there,” Anna said. “Wearing No. 9 reminds us of that and it was an extremely emotional time.”
Anna always has her brother on her mind, and he’s the reason Anna is where she is today. Thanks to Henry, she’s learned to work through the loss of life. Which is why she’s the perfect person to work through the Wolverines’ first season in program history, where losing has become all too common.
***
The Schueler family is a sports family, which is where Anna and Henry bonded most. Whether it was going to Chicago Cubs games or playing in the backyard, the two siblings were able to connect over the games they loved. Henry, two years older than Anna, always embraced his little sister tagging along in whatever game they were playing.
“He always included me in games like that because I was always the only girl playing,” Anna said. “Whether it was football, baseball or wiffleball in the backyard, he was always the first one to pick me to join his team.”
Henry was always loud on the sideline cheering his sister on at her sporting events, and he also excelled on the field. Henry loved all sports, but played baseball and football most often.
But when Henry was in eighth grade he began to experience lower leg and hip pain. At the time, the family assumed it was just a normal football injury and took Henry in for an MRI. After multiple tests in November of 2006, he was diagnosed with a rare subtype of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL.
“I remember when my dad told my brother and I,” Anna said. “You don’t really believe it is actually happening. I was in sixth grade when I found out he had cancer and it was hard for me to comprehend what the situation really was. I don’t think it really hit me until freshman year of high school.”
On March 9, 2007, his 14th birthday, he began his pre-transplant therapy in Milwaukee at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, more than 80 miles from their home in Chicago, Ill. One week later, he underwent a bone marrow transplant.
“Because he was treated in Wisconsin it was constant transporting,” Anna said. “Obviously it was extremely difficult, but whenever we would come to the hospital he was always in good spirits and happy to see us.”
Whenever Anna would visit her brother he was laughing, and if she treated him like he was sick, he would get mad at her and tell her to stop acting like that. There was a time when Anna had strep throat and couldn’t be near him. However, Henry didn’t mind and went over to her room to take care of her.
After 41 days in the hospital, Henry was discharged and returned to school to graduate with his class in June of 2007. Forty-one was also the jersey number that he was given in football when he was younger and he wore No. 9 for baseball. The numbers carried hope for Henry and his family, and just a few months out of the hospital, he was wearing that No. 9 again.
After a full summer of recovering, the Schueler family received unfortunate news. His leukemia had unexpectedly relapsed and he would have to begin chemotherapy treatments again. Once Henry completed his initial re-induction program, he developed a fungal infection, a risk not uncommon to immuno-compromised patients like Henry.
He fought both the invasive mucor fungal infection and the underlying leukemia and underwent a second bone marrow transfusion from the same anonymous donor. Only a few months after his relapse the infection progressed to his brain, causing massive intracranial bleeding, and in December, Henry passed away.
“Looking back I cannot believe he was only 14 years old,” Anna said. “I cannot even imagine what he must of gone through but he was always mature and strong about it.
“He knew he was going to fight to the best of his abilities and he did and he beat cancer. It was not cancer but the fungal infection that ended up taking his life.”
***
Anna missed her brother’s presence immensely after his death. Henry was mature and courageous in the face of overwhelming odds and refused to give up. When her brother passed, Anna decided to learn from his ways and changed her game on the field. She decided that she’d compete at her highest possible level at all times and never give up. His passing motivated Anna to be more competitive and push her through any adversity that came her way.
Before her freshman year, she’d always played basketball in the winter and softball in the spring, however, she chose to transition from softball to lacrosse. Going into her freshman year of high school, she had never cradled a ball or taken a shot on goal. It wasn’t until a family friend convinced her to give the sport a try that she decided she was up for the challenge.
“I think my family was a little sad about me switching at first because we are a firm baseball family,” Anna said. “It was a new sport and I felt I might as well try it, and if I didn’t like it I could always fall back to playing softball in high school.”
The switch from softball to lacrosse wasn’t an easy one, but she was willing to accept the challenge of learning a new sport and face it head on.
Anna’s athleticism and determination helped her pick up the game and because of all the time she spent in the backyard playing sports with her brother, she was able to pick it up quickly. Coaches and friends patiently taught her the necessary skills, and she was able to push through the frustration to make the varsity team by her sophomore season, a rarity at the Loyola Academy.
According to Michigan coach Jennifer Ulehla, basketball players very easily make the transition between the two sports due to similarities between defensive concepts and offensive movements. Anna, a three-time varsity letter winner in basketball and one of 25 basketball players selected to the ESPN Chicago All-Area team, fit that mold and was able to convert sports in a short time.
During her sophomore season on the basketball team when she was picking a jersey number, No. 41 was one of the few remaining for her to choose, and her brother immediately came to mind.
“I decided it was time I started remembering my brother while I play so I picked 41,” Anna said. “I wore it for the rest of my time at Loyola and when it came to lacrosse I picked No. 9 because it is my way of representing that he is always with me whenever I play.”
By her sophomore year, she began to stand out in lacrosse, tallying 16 goals, nine assists and scooping 19 ground balls in 23 games, helping her team to an Illinois state championship. In her next two seasons, Anna only improved. She finished her senior season with All-Conference, All-State and U.S. Lacrosse All-American honors after scoring 60 goals and leading Loyola to its fifth straight state title.
When Ulehla started recruiting Anna she could tell she was a little rough around the edges as far as her skill level because she was new to the game, but her all-around athleticism and personality confirmed Ulehla’s belief that she was perfect for the program.
“Once I got to know her and her family it was a real no-brainer,” Ulehla said. “She not only lives her life with such a strong character, but obviously on top of that she has such a competitive spirit that I knew that I could really take her under my wing and help develop her into one of the best lacrosse players in the country.”
***
Michigan has had its ups and downs in its first year, but Ulehla has helped as Anna has taken the new program by storm. After the team lost its first eight games of the season, she very easily could have given up on the season. She could have called it quits and waited for the new season and new recruits to arrive.
However, she thought back to her brother — the grit and determination she witnessed of him on the playing field and in the hospital — and with that motivation she scored three hat tricks against Winthrop, Penn State and UC Davis, helping the program to its first-ever win. She was named the American Lacrosse Conference Rookie of the Week twice and now she leads the team with 28 points, consisting of 21 goals and 7 assists.
“She was very deserving of that award,” Ulehla said. “Anna is one of our hardest workers and in those games she came up big for us.”
Even though she leads the team in statistical categories, she still has a lot to learn due to her late start. One thing she has really been working on is her non-dominant hand. In softball, she always batted right-handed, and in basketball she mostly used her dominant hand to dribble. This has hindered Anna’s growth in learning how to be a dual-handed threat to prevent defenders from taking anything away from her game.
Not only has she improved her play on the field, but also her leadership skills. In September, the team voted five players to a leadership council and Anna was voted onto it despite her inexperience.
“When she says something people listen,” Ulehla said. “She is the type of player that can have a real impact on a program but it has got to go beyond just setting an example. She has to go beyond her own comfort zone, and she has recognized that she needs to be more vocal, more of a leader in all different areas, not just by example. ”
Anna has excelled on the field because she has continued to push through any adversity. She pushed through the adversity of learning a new sport her freshman year of high school and now she has pushed her way through learning how to play at a consistent Division I level her freshman year of college. With her dedication she has helped the team find recent success winning its last two games.
“With my brother’s passing I am beginning to learn more and understand that things like this unfortunately do happen,” Anna said. “The thing I took away from it is to put life in perspective. In a game, I know that if we lose it is not a big deal and a lot worse can happen.”
To Anna, competing at the highest level is what’s become important. It’s what her brother had taught her, and it’s what Ulehla will count on when she sends No. 9 onto the field.