Mom's battle inspired Maury senior

Kelani Bailey knows that bad news can change people. Sometimes in a good way.

While spending most of her youth carpet-crawling and playing with other children during elite racquetball tournaments, Kelani found little interest in the game.

But when Malia Bailey came home and told her family she had breast cancer, Kelani’s attitude about her mom’s passion started to change.

“She tells me I used to fall asleep in her racquetball bag,” said Kelani, 17, now a senior at Maury who also plays varsity field hockey. “When I got older I thought it was something fun and I would run around the courts with the other kids.

“But she was dragging me around all over the place all the time and I hated it. It was so boring.”

Not anymore. These days, Kelani is holding her own against the world’s top racquetball players in her age group. Last summer, she won silver medals in singles and doubles at the International Racquetball Federation’s Junior World Championships in the Dominican Republic.

Watching her mom deal with the rigors and pains – physical and mental – of cancer treatment got the young girl thinking.

“My mom played while she was pregnant with me,” Kelani said. “She is so interested in this game. I thought that maybe I should take more interest in it.

“I could have lost my mom and never got the chance to at least give it a try.”

Malia Bailey caught her cancer early enough and treatment went well. She’s been cancer free for nearly seven years.

And her daughter no longer replies with a heavy sigh when it’s time to head to a tournament.

“After I had my last treatment, I started organizing some clinics again,” said Malia, a longtime pro who now serves on the board of the Women’s Pro Racquetball Organization. “When I told her what I was doing, she asked me if she could come to the first clinic.

“That really touched me.”

It also sparked an interest that has developed into world-class talent.

Kelani’s second-place finishes in the junior world championships came after she won national titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles. No mixed doubles are played at worlds.

Kelani now has 17 national crowns and one world title – won in doubles during her first trip three years ago.

It’s safe to say, she’s changed her mind about the sport.

“I absolutely love it and did from the first tournament my mom took me to ... I mean the first one she took me to actually play in,” Kelani said with a laugh. “Because of my mom, it’s such a part of who I am.

“I don’t know if I would have taken to it or not had she not had cancer.”

Kelani Bailey also loves basketball and softball, sports that help feed her hunger for competition. But they apparently aren’t enough.

Through a mutual friend, Bailey found out that the Maury field hockey team last year was looking for players. So she called the coach and tried out.

Kelani made the team, but pretty much was relegated to practicing with the junior varsity while learning the game’s intricacies.

“Some of the skills from racquetball – the hand-eye coordination and the footwork – are a huge help,” Maury coach Sue Schneider said. “What kid do you know, who is a world-class athlete, would agree to practice all the time and sit on the bench for the most part?

“Her work ethic and commitment to the team and the game are incredible. And she sets the bar for training.”

This year Kelani, despite being in only her second year in the sport, is starting for the Commodores. She scored the winning goal against Kecoughtan and had the first goal in a recent upset of top-ranked First Colonial.

Kelani had two assists in Monday’s Eastern District semifinal victory for top-seeded Maury, which plays Granby in today’s championship game.

Kelani is hoping her team makes an extended run through the playoffs, and that she plays field hockey in college.

“I know I got a very late start, but I want to keep playing,” she said.

Her mom and coach are doing everything they can to get her the chance – contacting coaches, and sending videos and an impressive resume.

“I’ll need to go somewhere where I can still play racquetball,” said Kelani, who works as a certified racquetball instructor and loves to teach children. “I just really want to play more field hockey.”

And, this time, nothing bad had to happen to make her so interested.

Lee Tolliver, (757) 222-5844, Lee.Tolliver@pilotonline.com