May 9 was a day like any other for tennis coach Kim Walding.
After dropping off three players and her assistant coach in Holliday from a regional tennis tournament, she was heading to her home in Wichita Falls.
That’s when a multi-vehicle accident on the highway changed Walding’s life.
Now, four months later, Walding is still dealing with the effects of this accident, but the Memorial tennis coach is slowly getting stronger each day.
Through her return to coaching in a wheelchair over the summer, her recent transition into using a walker and cane plus regular physical therapy, she has shown great strength and determination.
THE ACCIDENT
Walding was on her way back home that Thursday after a trip to Abilene, casually talking to her son on the phone through the Bluetooth speakers connected in her car.
She had just moved into the center lane of Highway 82, when a large pickup truck pulling a long trailer with two horses veered into her lane.
The truck hit her car head on, pushing her backwards into another pickup truck that crashed into her from behind.
Smashed in between both vehicles, Walding didn’t lose consciousness from the impact, feeling engulfing pain and numbness.
“When it happened, I smelled smoke and I thought my car was on fire,” Walding said. “I was trying to get my breath because of just the sheer force of the crash and I tried to get out of my car. I took off my seat belt and tried to open my door, but I couldn’t move, I couldn’t walk.”
A nurse who saw the accident happen pulled over to wait with Walding for the ambulances, speaking with her son on the phone which had stayed connected the whole time.
Walding and her son Caleb both felt immense relief when Caleb arrived at the scene. Shortly after, the ambulances arrived.
“I think once they got me kind of sedated, I didn’t feel as much, but I don’t know, I just was grateful to be alive and didn’t know what was happening,” Walding said. “Just in a state of confusion.”
THE RECOVERY
After being taken to United Regional, doctors assessed Walding’s injuries and decided to careflight her to John Peter Smith in Fort Worth where she had surgery the following Monday.
Among her many injuries were a broken pelvis on both sides, 13 transverse process fractures in her back, broken ribs, fractures in her shoulders and legs plus a blood clot.
She was non-weight bearing, fully relying on a wheelchair starting in June, which meant she had to return to work in a wheelchair.
“I’ve never been in that position before in all my 30 years, and it’s quite eye-opening,” Walding said. “It does show you how much you’ve got inside of you to do something. You have to have determination and a strong spirit to be able to do that, and I think it’s been tough. It’s been really hard. I’ve always been active and up and a go-getter, and it really just knocked me back.”
Senior tennis standout Emma West was surprised by how much Walding could handle early on.
“After everything she’s been through, I don’t think anyone expected anything out of her,” West said. “We were all just thankful she’s OK, but she’s still working really hard to make this a really good year and season for us which I love.”
Being in a wheelchair certainly provided many physical challenges with simply getting around the courts in the miserable summer heat, but it did not stop Walding from showing up for her team and helping them to the best of her abilities.
“Even though she’s very limited in what she can do right now with movement, she’s still very much trying to get to know us and help us improve the best she can,” West said. “I can tell she’s really working hard to help us and be the coach we need, which I think is really great.”
Walding still regularly has physical therapy sessions and experiences some pain in her back and hips. However, she feels she is getting stronger every day, and has progressed from the wheelchair to now using a walker and even sometimes a cane to get around.
THE COACHING JOURNEY
This is Walding’s 13th year coaching tennis and 30th year coaching and teaching overall.
She made the decision to go into this profession early on. Growing up in Whitehouse, Texas, she played several different sports including volleyball, basketball and tennis.
After high school, Walding attended East Texas State University (now Texas A&M University-Commerce), on a volleyball scholarship. She’s been the head volleyball coach at Petrolia and head tennis coach at Holliday.
It was her high school volleyball coach Susan Wade that inspired Walding the most through the true respect and care she would show all of her players.
“We’re taught at a young age to respect those that are over us, but she gave that back to us players and she really took a lot of time with me to instill a lot of leadership skills,” Walding said.
Walding and Wade have kept in touch through the decades with Wade coming to watch Walding coach volleyball.
“We’ve communicated throughout this recovery time,” Walding said. “After my crash when I was in the hospital, she called me and we’ve spoke many times just since this accident. I still call her coach.”
Today, Walding has the privilege of giving back that same respect and care that Wade showed her to the Memorial tennis team.
“She’s super motivating. She gives us serious tips, but she’s really uplifting and positive,” West said. “A lot of times that’s exactly what we need, is just someone telling us that we’re doing great and you know giving us tips on what to fix, but she doesn’t stress us out for sure. She’s very calm and positive.”
If she could give one piece of advice to herself at the beginning of her coaching career, it would be to not take things so seriously.
“The big picture is so many kids aren’t necessarily going to maybe play college ball or go on after they play high school,” Walding said. “It’s about their experience while they’re in high school. I think as a young coach we take things so serious – it’s all about winning, where it’s really all about life. And the things that they learn from you at a young age is what they’ll carry through them in their life.”
After 30 years in the profession, Walding has learned many lessons about the importance of hard work and what it means to be a true leader, but this recovery process has taught her one of the most important lessons of all.
“I’ve learned that I’m stronger than I give myself credit for,” Walding said. “And that God saved my life for a purpose, and I’ve just got to walk that out and find that.”
