Temple University Athletics
Sarah Keer
Photo by: Paige Ozaroski
Diabetes and Division I – Field Hockey’s Sarah Keer is Inspiring by Example
10.20.14 | Field Hockey
By Karen Auerbach, Associate Director, Athletic Communications
The balancing act that is the life of a Division I athlete is well-documented, but there are some who must deal with even greater obstacles. One of those is Temple field hockey redshirt freshman Sarah Keer, who lives each day with type I diabetes after being diagnosed with the disease at the age of eight.
For Keer, this means that in addition to juggling the demands of field hockey, academics and a social life, she must constantly regulate her blood sugar levels.
For those that have type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin, which is a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. Over the last 11 years, Keer has become well-practiced at pricking her fingers three to 10 times a day to check her glucose levels. If they drop, she can quickly have trouble concentrating and become dizzy and exhausted.
"I have to count my carbs and test my blood sugar to keep it in check," said Keer, but said her dietary restrictions are minimal and it's mostly about figuring out what works and what doesn't. "I have a pump, and you put in your carbs and I have a set insulin to carbs ratio. So for every 10 units of carbs I'll get one insulin. I do that every meal, and then constantly throughout the day my pump will inject insulin into me."
Having to monitor herself so closely could be a hindrance to the typical college experience, not to mention athletics, but Keer says she doesn't let it affect her too much in either sense. Her teammates are aware of her diabetes, and those that live with her know what to do in an emergency. If Keer was ever seizing or passed out, they would inject her with Glucagon which would cause a quick release of glucose into her blood.
Being an athlete had already defined Keer well before her diabetes became a factor. In her family, playing sports was a given. Her father, Tom Keer, played college football at Lehigh, while her older brother, J.T., is a senior on the football team at Wilkes University.
"Ever since I can remember, my older brother and I were in the yard playing games or throwing the football," said Keer. "I ended up playing little league baseball with him. I think having my brother pushing me at such a young age made me really want to play different kinds of sports."
Keer got an early start in gymnastics, and soon got into basketball, soccer and track.
"When I got diagnosed, I was playing four sports," she said. "I think my first question to the doctor was 'can I play sports?' I went back to gymnastics three days later and I know my mom was so nervous. But it really didn't affect me. I think some kids stop playing sports. I don't think there's enough information out there letting kids know it's ok to keep playing."
Less than three percent of youths are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, but coincidentally, Keer had her diagnosis in common with another girl from gymnastics, Gwen Remaley.
"Gwen was in the same gymnastics class as I was, so we met really young," said Keer. "I had no idea she was diabetic until I came back from the hospital and our moms talked to each other. We didn't become closer then because we went to different elementary schools, but in middle school we started playing sports together and became really good friends. It was really cool to have somebody to relate to that's going through the same things."
In seventh grade, Keer's parents, and her mother Christine especially, pushed her to play field hockey. Despite initial resistance, Keer quickly fell in love with the sport. Her parents continued to push her to improve and take advantage of extra opportunities to play, and it paid off.
Keer became a standout in the sport at Lehighton Area High School, where she was a two-time Times News Player of the Year. She scored 51 goals and added 21 assists, and was part of a state championship team one year and a state runner-up team the next.
Keer's accomplishments were not limited to field hockey. She was a two-time conference champion and also a district champion in the javelin, and was a three-time state qualifier in the shot put.
When Temple head coach Amanda Janney was out recruiting, she saw qualities in Keer that made her rise above many other high school players.
"I saw early on in recruiting Sarah how fierce and competitive she was," said Janney. "Her attitude and competitiveness really set her apart and made me want her to come to Temple."
Janney was also aware of Keer's diabetes, and says it has been a real learning experience.
"I remember seeing the pump that she wears on her side while we were recruiting her," she said. "I admit to not being very educated about diabetes, and it was a surprise to me how much is involved in taking care of yourself and how dangerous it can be if she doesn't. It has been really interesting to learn more about it and what she does to handle it.
"Sarah is very mature about it. It isn't something that affects her play. Occasionally she'll have to step out of practice but she's great about knowing when she needs to check her blood sugar. It's a non-stop issue that she has stay on top of."
In addition to diabetes and the typical struggles of adjusting to life as a freshman student-athlete, Keer was faced with an additional obstacle last season when she developed compartment syndrome early in her collegiate career. It was unrelated to her diabetes, but compartment syndrome causes pressure in the muscles to build to dangerous levels and decrease blood flow. Keer was sidelined for the remainder of the season after playing in six games, and eventually had surgery.
"Sarah's injury last year made us realize even more so how tough she was," said Janney. "For a while she really wasn't complaining about how much her legs hurt, but then we realized how much pain she was in. We're glad she stopped playing when she did."
The silver lining for Keer was the timing of her injury, which occurred early enough in the season to make her eligible for a medical redshirt year. If she had played in just one more game, that would not have been possible.
After a six-seven month recovery process, Keer was back in action only for the final tournament of the spring season for Temple. This fall, she has seen action in 13 of Temple's 14 games.
"Sarah has one of the hardest shots on the team," said Janney. "She has great speed, she's really strong, and she's an amazing athlete. Her time will come. Her contributions have already been great, but as she continues in our program she'll be playing a much bigger role on our front line. I expect her to have a 20-goal season by the time she graduates."
It can be tough for younger players, especially one as competitive as Keer, to wait their turn, but she keeps it in perspective.
"I think that this year is really preparing me for the seasons to come," she said. "I think I'll be able to take on a bigger role when some of the upperclassmen are gone. I'm learning a lot about how the game is played at this level. I love scoring goals and I'm definitely itching to do that."
Just two games after being interviewed for this story, Keer scored the first goal of her collegiate career in a 4-1 win for the Owls at William & Mary on Oct. 18.
Every year since she was nine, Keer has been attending camps for kids with diabetes. After dealing with the disease for 11 years, Keer was anxious to start passing along what she has learned to the younger generation. This past summer, she was a diabetes camp counselor at Camp Freedom and was able to show by example that the disease is no excuse for failure or for not following your dreams.
"There just isn't a lot of information available about playing sports with diabetes," she said. "Some people think it's easier just to not do anything so their blood sugar won't fluctuate. I really want to show them that you can accomplish anything you want and play sports at any level you want. I think it's cool that they can have me, as a Division I athlete, kind of be their mentor."
Keer started out as a sport management major at Temple, but has switched her focus to kinesiology in order to concentrate on exercise science. Her professional aspirations are to provide training for athletes with diabetes.
"My ultimate goal is to open my own gym," said Keer. "I want to be able to train everyone, but I want my main focus to be on athletes with diabetes or just anyone with diabetes who wants to be healthier and more active."
For Janney's part, she wants to make sure Keer continues to have more opportunities to be a mentor.
"I'd love to help Sarah continue to be an advocate for people with diabetes, and find other ways for her to reach out," she said. "I think in the next three years that she's on the team, we plan on doing more to educate our own team and to help her continue to be a positive role model for others in the same situation."
The balancing act that is the life of a Division I athlete is well-documented, but there are some who must deal with even greater obstacles. One of those is Temple field hockey redshirt freshman Sarah Keer, who lives each day with type I diabetes after being diagnosed with the disease at the age of eight.
For Keer, this means that in addition to juggling the demands of field hockey, academics and a social life, she must constantly regulate her blood sugar levels.
For those that have type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin, which is a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. Over the last 11 years, Keer has become well-practiced at pricking her fingers three to 10 times a day to check her glucose levels. If they drop, she can quickly have trouble concentrating and become dizzy and exhausted.
"I have to count my carbs and test my blood sugar to keep it in check," said Keer, but said her dietary restrictions are minimal and it's mostly about figuring out what works and what doesn't. "I have a pump, and you put in your carbs and I have a set insulin to carbs ratio. So for every 10 units of carbs I'll get one insulin. I do that every meal, and then constantly throughout the day my pump will inject insulin into me."
Having to monitor herself so closely could be a hindrance to the typical college experience, not to mention athletics, but Keer says she doesn't let it affect her too much in either sense. Her teammates are aware of her diabetes, and those that live with her know what to do in an emergency. If Keer was ever seizing or passed out, they would inject her with Glucagon which would cause a quick release of glucose into her blood.
Being an athlete had already defined Keer well before her diabetes became a factor. In her family, playing sports was a given. Her father, Tom Keer, played college football at Lehigh, while her older brother, J.T., is a senior on the football team at Wilkes University.
"Ever since I can remember, my older brother and I were in the yard playing games or throwing the football," said Keer. "I ended up playing little league baseball with him. I think having my brother pushing me at such a young age made me really want to play different kinds of sports."Keer got an early start in gymnastics, and soon got into basketball, soccer and track.
"When I got diagnosed, I was playing four sports," she said. "I think my first question to the doctor was 'can I play sports?' I went back to gymnastics three days later and I know my mom was so nervous. But it really didn't affect me. I think some kids stop playing sports. I don't think there's enough information out there letting kids know it's ok to keep playing."
Less than three percent of youths are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, but coincidentally, Keer had her diagnosis in common with another girl from gymnastics, Gwen Remaley.
"Gwen was in the same gymnastics class as I was, so we met really young," said Keer. "I had no idea she was diabetic until I came back from the hospital and our moms talked to each other. We didn't become closer then because we went to different elementary schools, but in middle school we started playing sports together and became really good friends. It was really cool to have somebody to relate to that's going through the same things."
In seventh grade, Keer's parents, and her mother Christine especially, pushed her to play field hockey. Despite initial resistance, Keer quickly fell in love with the sport. Her parents continued to push her to improve and take advantage of extra opportunities to play, and it paid off.
Keer became a standout in the sport at Lehighton Area High School, where she was a two-time Times News Player of the Year. She scored 51 goals and added 21 assists, and was part of a state championship team one year and a state runner-up team the next.
Keer's accomplishments were not limited to field hockey. She was a two-time conference champion and also a district champion in the javelin, and was a three-time state qualifier in the shot put.
When Temple head coach Amanda Janney was out recruiting, she saw qualities in Keer that made her rise above many other high school players.
"I saw early on in recruiting Sarah how fierce and competitive she was," said Janney. "Her attitude and competitiveness really set her apart and made me want her to come to Temple."
Janney was also aware of Keer's diabetes, and says it has been a real learning experience.
"I remember seeing the pump that she wears on her side while we were recruiting her," she said. "I admit to not being very educated about diabetes, and it was a surprise to me how much is involved in taking care of yourself and how dangerous it can be if she doesn't. It has been really interesting to learn more about it and what she does to handle it.
"Sarah is very mature about it. It isn't something that affects her play. Occasionally she'll have to step out of practice but she's great about knowing when she needs to check her blood sugar. It's a non-stop issue that she has stay on top of."
In addition to diabetes and the typical struggles of adjusting to life as a freshman student-athlete, Keer was faced with an additional obstacle last season when she developed compartment syndrome early in her collegiate career. It was unrelated to her diabetes, but compartment syndrome causes pressure in the muscles to build to dangerous levels and decrease blood flow. Keer was sidelined for the remainder of the season after playing in six games, and eventually had surgery.
"Sarah's injury last year made us realize even more so how tough she was," said Janney. "For a while she really wasn't complaining about how much her legs hurt, but then we realized how much pain she was in. We're glad she stopped playing when she did."
The silver lining for Keer was the timing of her injury, which occurred early enough in the season to make her eligible for a medical redshirt year. If she had played in just one more game, that would not have been possible.
After a six-seven month recovery process, Keer was back in action only for the final tournament of the spring season for Temple. This fall, she has seen action in 13 of Temple's 14 games."Sarah has one of the hardest shots on the team," said Janney. "She has great speed, she's really strong, and she's an amazing athlete. Her time will come. Her contributions have already been great, but as she continues in our program she'll be playing a much bigger role on our front line. I expect her to have a 20-goal season by the time she graduates."
It can be tough for younger players, especially one as competitive as Keer, to wait their turn, but she keeps it in perspective.
"I think that this year is really preparing me for the seasons to come," she said. "I think I'll be able to take on a bigger role when some of the upperclassmen are gone. I'm learning a lot about how the game is played at this level. I love scoring goals and I'm definitely itching to do that."
Just two games after being interviewed for this story, Keer scored the first goal of her collegiate career in a 4-1 win for the Owls at William & Mary on Oct. 18.
Every year since she was nine, Keer has been attending camps for kids with diabetes. After dealing with the disease for 11 years, Keer was anxious to start passing along what she has learned to the younger generation. This past summer, she was a diabetes camp counselor at Camp Freedom and was able to show by example that the disease is no excuse for failure or for not following your dreams.
"There just isn't a lot of information available about playing sports with diabetes," she said. "Some people think it's easier just to not do anything so their blood sugar won't fluctuate. I really want to show them that you can accomplish anything you want and play sports at any level you want. I think it's cool that they can have me, as a Division I athlete, kind of be their mentor."
Keer started out as a sport management major at Temple, but has switched her focus to kinesiology in order to concentrate on exercise science. Her professional aspirations are to provide training for athletes with diabetes.
"My ultimate goal is to open my own gym," said Keer. "I want to be able to train everyone, but I want my main focus to be on athletes with diabetes or just anyone with diabetes who wants to be healthier and more active."
For Janney's part, she wants to make sure Keer continues to have more opportunities to be a mentor.
"I'd love to help Sarah continue to be an advocate for people with diabetes, and find other ways for her to reach out," she said. "I think in the next three years that she's on the team, we plan on doing more to educate our own team and to help her continue to be a positive role model for others in the same situation."
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