Jade Beckman knew almost instantly her worst fear for her senior year had become reality.

Just six matches into her volleyball season last fall, the Oakley three-sport standout was making a dig against Greeley County at the Syracuse tournament when she landed awkwardly on her left leg and heard a pop in her knee.

“The first thought through my head was: ‘There is no way this is happening to me,’ ” Beckman said. “I knew it was bad. My teammates and coaches said they knew it was bad because I didn’t get up. I looked up at my mom the second it popped. My dad ended up having to carry me off the court.

“There were just so many things going through my head. You never think it’s going to happen to you until it does.”

A few days later, an MRI confirmed a torn ACL.

A star volleyball and basketball player and a state runner-up in triple jump, Beckman was in disbelief that her senior sports year was over before it had barely started.

“For the first two weeks, I was in so much denial about it,” Beckman said. “I woke up every day and questioned it like 100 times a day. ‘Is this real? Did this really happen to me?’ It was the hardest thing to swallow.

“I just had so many people asking me about it, and it was just a hard thing to even talk about -- just the disappointment that I felt. At first, I felt like I let everybody down -- my coaches, my teammates and my parents. It was just a really hard thing to deal with for those first two weeks.”

After the initial shock, Beckman began finding other ways to contribute to the Plainsmen.

Oakley’s basketball and volleyball teams rallied in her absence, reaching state in both sports.

“I told myself: I gotta be there for my team in a different way now,” said Beckman, the Capitol Federal® True Blue® Student of the Week. “The one way that I could contribute to the team was by being there supporting them and helping them with any questions that they may have. That really helped me feel like I was actually a part of the team.”

Oakley volleyball coach Lindsay Hodges said Beckman’s fingerprints were still all over the team’s success. The Plainsmen finished 38-5.

“Jade became a constant source of encouragement, lifting her teammates in moments of pressure and celebrating their success as if she were on the court herself,” Hodges said. “While she couldn’t compete physically, her presence never left the team.

“She showed up to every game, every practice she could, offering support, energy and belief when it mattered most.”

Just a couple weeks removed from knee surgery, Beckman was still on the sideline supporting the Plainsmen at the 2A state tournament.

“I was still in a lot of pain, but I tried my best that weekend to just be there for them and help them and try to be a part of the team as much as I could, even though my role looked very different,” she said.

Beckman took pride in how the Plainsmen responded to the adversity of not having their senior leader. They lost another projected starter before the season when junior Jayde Kahle suffered a season-ending ankle injury. 

“That day at Syracuse, a lot of them were saying, ‘We’re going to win this for Jade,’ ” Beckman said. “It was just so heartwarming to hear them talk about me like that. They were so supportive.

“I can't even count on one hand how many teammates gave me little care baskets and wrote me notes. I wouldn’t have been able to get through this without them. Seeing them respond to the adversity, I was so proud of them.”

Oakley followed up the volleyball success with one of its best basketball seasons in recent history, making state for the first time since 2012.

The Plainsmen celebrated Beckman’s career by having her suit up for the final home game against Greeley County. Beckman entered the game in the closing moments and was allowed to score the final basket.

“It was so emotional, but just seeing everybody there that was supporting me and the people who went through so much to do that for me was just so heartwarming,” Beckman said. “I just felt so special to have my last moments on the Oakley court. They weren’t what I wanted them to be, but I just told myself it’s better than anything. It was just awesome.”

Despite her senior year being wiped out, Beckman enjoyed an accomplished career for the Plainsmen.

In volleyball, she’s a three-time All-Mid Continent League selection who helped key a huge turnaround season for the Plainsmen in 2024, totaling 275 kills, 373 digs and 37 aces as the Plainsmen reached state for the first time since 2006.

But her biggest passion is basketball, where she built a reputation as one of the state’s top defensive players. As a junior, she averaged 13.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.8 steals to earn honorable mention All-2A honors. That season, she helped the Plainsmen win an MCL Tournament title for the first time in school history -- one of Beckman’s favorite memories at Oakley, along with the 2024 volleyball season and the Plainsmen finishing as sub-state runners-up during her freshman basketball season.

Beckman’s track career was highlighted by a state runner-up finish in triple jump with a leap of 35 feet, 10.25 inches, taking second to teammate Alexa Weiser, who played a leading role on the Oakley volleyball and basketball teams this year as a sophomore.

Now six months removed from surgery, Beckman said she’s getting to the point where she can start running and doing some agility drills, but she won’t be able to make it back before the end of track season. 

“Jade is an exceptional individual with a wonderful personality. It has been a pleasure coaching her in track,” Oakley coach Jason Robben said. “She consistently worked hard in practice and motivated those around her to improve. Both coaches and teammates will miss her, as she always encouraged everyone to give their very best.”

With her calendar jam-packed with sports since she was little, Beckman said her senior year has been a major adjustment, but she has tried to find silver linings.

“At first it was so hard,” Beckman said. “I went from doing sports every day of the week to barely being able to walk. I spent my time being with my family and my friends, and I got to focus a little bit more on my college classes in school, and I just worked a lot. I really didn’t have anything to do but go to practices and go to work. It was such a different outlook.

“I was not expecting this for my senior year, and it was definitely difficult to get used to, but I think a lot of lessons were learned and I definitely have a different outlook on life now.”

Beckman has several pieces of advice for athletes in her same shoes who see their careers end abruptly because of injury.

“It’s OK to not be OK,” Beckman said. “It’s OK to feel sad about it and mourn the loss of who you were and the place that you had on a team.

“I would also say: There’s more to your life than sports. You’re bigger than sports. Don’t have the identity of just sports. I felt like I kind of did that, and I felt lost for a good two months. I didn’t really know who I was, but there’s more to life than sports.”

Beckman also encourages athletes to soak up every moment.

“Don’t take anything for granted,” Beckman said. “A couple days after my surgery, I couldn’t even walk and it was just a humbling moment. I took so much for granted -- playing games and practicing. And I just wish I would’ve embraced those moments a little more.”

Beckman said she’s leaned on her parents, Jody and Melanie, as well as her twin brother, Chance, who also plays sports and suffered an ACL tear his sophomore year.

“He’s been there for me,” Jade said of her brother. “He’s one of the best people in my life, and I wouldn’t have been able to get through this without him.”

Beckman hasn’t completely ruled out trying to play at the next level, but she’s currently planning on attending Fort Hays State University for nursing next year.

She said she’s been overwhelmed by the support from the Oakley community.

“The people that I’m surrounded by have been so understanding of my emotions, just knowing that some days will be good days and some days will be bad days,” Beckman said. “No matter what, they stick with me. They’re there for me. My church community is so good to me. The number of people who told me they were praying for me and writing me letters has been so awesome.

“I really would not have been able to get through this without them, and it’s just such a good feeling to have that many people that you know are going to be there for you.”