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CHAFFEE BACK WITH VENGEANCE : ROYAL VOLLEYBALL SENIOR MAKES BIG RETURN FROM ROTATOR-CUFF SURGERY.


Byline: Lee Barnathan Daily News Staff Writer

Marc Chaffee was humbled.

Once, he could spike a volleyball with terrific force. Then, last summer, he struggled to lift a carton of milk.

Chaffee, a 6-foot-5 Royal High School senior volleyball player, underwent surgery for a torn rotator cuff rotator cuff
n.
A set of muscles and tendons that secures the arm to the shoulder joint and permits rotation of the arm. Also called musculotendinous cuff.
 in his right shoulder. Then, while he was rehabilitating it, he learned a new position on the court.

``There's a chance I might not play. How will my shoulder be?'' he said. ``It's quite frightening. Being a senior, I didn't get an offer from colleges, so I knew I might have played my last year.''

Chaffee was used to getting things done in a quiet, confident way. Yet these past months challenged him, and he responded.

The surgery and rehab, though difficult, were successes. And he learned his new position in the process. Now, he has helped the Highlanders (19-0) reach the Southern Section Division I semifinal for the first time. They'll play Capistrano Valley tonight at 7 at Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969.  High.

Chaffee played his junior season with a sore shoulder but didn't complain. His father, Gary, said Marc often brought to the court a Muhammed-Ali-I-am-the-greatest mentality.

That changed one day last summer when Chaffee tried pouring milk and his shoulder couldn't handle the weight.

``In games, you know you can't be stopped, and then when you can't even pour a jug of milk, you realize maybe you can be stopped,'' he said.

It took awhile a·while  
adv.
For a short time.

Usage Note: Awhile, an adverb, is never preceded by a preposition such as for, but the two-word form a while may be preceded by a preposition.
 for Chaffee to accept he had a torn rotator cuff and that surgery would be necessary (he had hoped it was tendinitis tendinitis
 or tendonitis

Inflammation of a tendon sheath, due to irritation of this thin, filmy tissue by overuse of the tendons, which slide within them, or to bacterial infection.
).

On Dec. 31, he underwent arthroscopic surgery Arthroscopic Surgery Definition

Arthroscopic surgery is a procedure to visualize, diagnose, and treat joint problems. The name is derived from the Greek words arthron, which means joint, and skopein, which means to look at.
 at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles
UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University)
UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX
. Doctors, instead of repairing the knotted and torn muscles, simply removed them.

Part of Chaffee's three-month rehabilitation rehabilitation: see physical therapy.  became strengthening the remaining muscles. It wasn't always easy.

``Sometimes, I'd feel great and happy,'' he said. ``Other times, I thought nothing changed. I tried to keep positive.''

Still, his father said, Chaffee was sad and scared he would never play again. He wanted to play this season not only because it was his senior year, but because he felt the team had a chance to win the section title.

So he tackled his rehabilitation with gusto GUSTO Cardiology A series of clinical trials that have examined a series of strategies to reduce the M&M of acute MI; the GUSTOs include: Global Utilization of Streptokinase & tPA for Occluded coronary arteries trial–GUSTO I; Global Use of Strategies .

``He did his physical therapy extremely diligently,'' Gary Chaffee said. ``He kept every appointment. It showed his eagerness. . . . He was quite hopeful he would get a lot of it back.''

While he rehabbed, the season began. Chaffee switched from opposite hitter to outside hitter, meaning he would be responsible for receiving serves and passing them to the setter setter: see sporting dog.
setter

Any of three breeds derived from a medieval hunting dog that would set (lie down) when it found birds so that it and the birds could be covered with a net. Setters have long hair on the ears, chest, legs, and tail.
. He also would see more sets.

This wasn't easy, either. Chaffee's shoulder was not completely healed, and he had to learn how to pass, how to move his feet. Plus, he had coach Bob Ferguson getting on his case in practice.

The work started paying off. In the late-season Redondo tournament, Chaffee continuously was set and kept coming through with the big hits. In the quarterfinal against Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. , Chaffee had 19 kills, including 10 in the second game.

For the season, he is third with 226 kills in 460 attempts (49.1 percent). He's also tied for first with 135 digs and has 38 stuff blocks and 142 points off his serve, including 19 aces.

``I told you, once he got all healthy and he improved some parts of his game, that he'd be a force,'' Ferguson said. ``He has a lot of confidence. He can do the job if you give him the opportunity. He's the kind of kid where there's no limit to what he can do.''

After this year, Chaffee is ready to agree.

``I feel like a stronger person, too,'' he said.
COPYRIGHT 1997 Daily News
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1997, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Publication:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
Date:May 28, 1997
Words:613
Previous Article:SOFTBALL : CAMARILLO MOVES ON TO QUARTERFINALS; QUARTZ HILL ERROR COSTS REBELS.
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