From paralysis to power hitter

“[Guillain-Barre Syndrome] attacked my neurological system and left me basically paralyzed for several months,” Hamming said in an e-mail. “Over the next couple of years I slowly regained my strength and abilities as my nerves recovered.”

While the body is not paralyzed permanently from the disease, it takes years to recover from the nerve damage because nerves grow extremely slowly. But Hamming did not consign himself to life in a wheelchair — his competitive spirit remained. He took up wheelchair sports to remain active.

“[W]hile I was recovering I either ate junk food or played wheelchair sports. Wheelchair sports gave me a good outlet and allowed me to continue competing,” Hamming said. “It’s pretty satisfying smashing your wheelchair into somebody.”

Though Hamming enjoyed wheelchair sports, he still wanted to return to the volleyball court. During high school, he made an arduous but extremely successful recovery. Proof in point, he was recruited by the Tigers for his excellence all over the court.

Today Hamming is an integral member of the volleyball team. So far this year he has 92 kills for an average of 2.5 kills per game, along with 10 service aces.

He played a major part in Princeton’s upset victory over No. 14 George Mason, with five blocked spikes and 16 kills.

“I love the competition in volleyball,” Hamming said. “It’s a great sport to pick up because this way I have something to do at the beach besides show off my pasty, bony body. But my favorite part is still coming out victorious in an intense and important match.”

Hamming is still unsure about his plans after leaving the Tiger volleyball team.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do after college — I’m still trying to figure out what I’m going to do this summer,” Hamming said. “I don’t like to plan ahead too far in advance, after all, you never know what will happen.”

One person to whom Hamming owes a lot is volleyball head coach Glenn Nelson. Nelson, who is the all-time winningest coach at Princeton, coaches both the men’s and women’s volleyball teams and has been at Princeton for almost 30 years. This vast experience has allowed Hamming to connect with his coach.

“[Nelson] is great,” Hamming said. “He’s the straight-forward, honest guy you want to be telling you what to do. He’s been around for a while and he’s seen pretty much everything and everybody.”

Always a team player, Hamming is looking forward to the Tigers’ schedule after spring break, when they will play NYU and NJIT in two crucial conference road games. Right now Princeton is 8-5 overall and 3-3 in the EIVA Tait Division. The team is coming off a 5-1 home stand in which it upset George Mason and only lost to No. 1 Penn State.

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The Tigers hope that Hamming will continue his current hot streak into the road trip, as he is a great defensive player as well as a key hitter. So far this year Hamming has 52 digs for an average of 1.3 digs per game. Hamming especially steps up his play in conference. His dig, spike and blocking averages all go up during conference games.

“After spring break, we need to come back healthy and fired up,” Hamming said. “We had a great home stand and gained a lot of confidence, but now we need to bring that confidence on the road and start winning some key matches.”