April 11, 2008

Dealing with injuries is a big part of being an athlete. Most of the time we can just walk it off or play through the pain, but sometimes there comes a point in an athlete's career when things are a little more serious and surgery is the only answer. Unfortunately this is exactly what happened to me. Coming in as a freshman this past year, I tore my ACL before I even arrived at preseason. As if starting college and getting ready to play soccer at such a high level wasn't stressful enough, I had to get surgery too.

After a couple of weeks I finally came to terms with the reality of what was happening and tried to make the best of the situation. It was extremely difficult for me to come on to the team already injured, but all of the girls made everything so much easier. Each and every one of them helped me to get around when I was struggling and they always made sure that I felt like I was part of the team, which really meant a lot to me. I am so grateful to have such wonderful teammates.

Although it was heartbreaking for me to not play at all during the fall season, I really feel that I was able to learn so much from watching on the sidelines. I was able to see how much faster and physical the college game was, and I knew that I would really have to work hard and push myself harder then I ever have if I wanted to compete at this level. r Now after about eight months or so I have recovered from my injury and I am back on the field just in time for the spring season. So far the spring has been going pretty well. Practices are hard and very intense at times, but it feels good to finally get out on the field again and play with everybody. We have some tough competition ahead of us for the rest of the spring, but we are all working hard and are determined to succeed.