Fowlerville's Angelle Haan knew her final basketball season would only last 2 weeks

FOWLERVILLE — The season is just beginning for girls’ basketball players throughout Michigan.

But it will end Thursday for Fowlerville senior Angelle Haan.

Haan has known from the moment preseason practices began that the Gladiators’ game Thursday at Mason will mark the final time she plays a sport she began at 4 years old.

More: What to expect from Livingston County's 2023-24 girls basketball teams

Haan will undergo surgery Dec. 21 to repair a torn labrum in her left shoulder, and have her biceps tendon re-anchored.

So, after just two weeks and five games, her Fowlerville basketball career will end.

There’s a motivational saying about playing every game like it’s your last. Haan has taken that concept to heart for the short time she gets to wear a Fowlerville uniform this season.

“It’s mostly just like no risk, no reward," she said. "So, I’ve just been going all out because I have nothing else to lose."

That approach has been reflected in the way she’s performed for the Gladiators.

Her forte has been rebounding and being a tenacious defender. She’s averaged 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals, in addition to 3.3 points and 1.7 assists.

But her importance to the Gladiators extends beyond the box score.

"She’s been a tremendous leader, starting with conditioning," said Coach Levi Conley. "She was the first person to speak up and encourage all of the girls to keep going.

“We have a pretty aggressive conditioning program. She was able to keep everyone going with her enthusiasm and just verbally keep everything positive within the program.”

Haan's injury flared up in early October while she was in the middle of volleyball season. She went through preseason conditioning for basketball and tryouts knowing her senior season would be brief.

More: Who are the top 5 girls basketball players in Livingston County entering 2023-24?

“It’s definitely been a little sad,” Haan said. “It’s something to get over. I’ve been processing it a lot pretty much since I found out, knowing I had to get (surgery). Just making the best decision for me is kind of what I had to do. I’m just dealing with that and overcoming that.”

Haan will play softball in college, having recently signed with Tiffin University, an NCAA Division II Program in Ohio.

She's looking at a four-month recovery before she can resume athletic activities and six months before she's fully recovered.

But even though her athletic future is as a softball player, basketball has a special place in her heart.

“It was my favorite sport growing up,” Haan said. “I kind of got shoved into (softball) because my sister played it. I grew to love it playing with her. She’s helped me a lot with that.

“I love just the atmosphere (of basketball), playing as a team. It takes everybody there. If one person doesn’t go rebound or box out, it makes a difference. It’s a little different than softball.”

Haan has played with a brace on her shoulder. Being left-handed, her shooting has been impacted, but not her ability to get after the ball.

“I have to make sure I don’t reinjure it or hurt it more by doing something crazy or silly or anything like that,” she said. “It’s a little bit awkward, just because I have to wear a brace. It hinders the normal way I would shoot, but it’s not too bad. Sometimes passing far distances can be a little bit harder. I realize it’s not where I used to be.”

Haan hopes to be healthy enough to play at least part of her final season of high school softball, after hitting .386 with three homers and 25 RBIs as a junior.

In the meantime, she'll have to adjust to a less active lifestyle while allowing her body to heal. That won’t be easy for someone who's constantly on the go, even continuing her softball training during basketball season.

“Stopping playing and having that sudden silence is really hard, just watching the sport I love and not being able to play it," she said. "So, just trying to get back to that is my main thing. It’s going to be very, very weird not being able to grab stuff, doing everything I used to do the same.”

Even if she can’t play softball this spring, Haan hopes to take part in leadership.

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Conley also welcomes Haan’s continued contributions to the basketball team after surgery, even if it’s not on the floor.

“Thank goodness we're getting to have her on the court for five games, at least,” Conley said. “She’s meant a tremendous amount to us this season in our good start we’ve had so far, just anchoring our defense and she’s been a tremendous leader.

"We’re a very young team and she’s taken a lot of our younger players under her wing. I anticipate she’s going to be doing the same, just from a different perspective.”

— Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Fowlerville's Angelle Haan knew her final basketball season would only last 2 weeks