I came to Williston for one major reason, and that was to play soccer. I got injured in the first game and now my career is over.

All I ever wanted to play was soccer and for that to be ripped out of my hands breaks my heart. My injuries started at the end of my freshman year when I felt sudden pain in my left knee.  I thought it wouldn’t be anything because I was used to having soreness after a long day of practice. This pain was different.

The pain would continue for weeks, until I finally convinced myself that something wasn’t right. After getting an x-ray and an MRI it turned out that I had a torn meniscus in my left knee, and that I had to have surgery to repair the tear.  What did it mean for my sophomore soccer season?

I underwent surgery a month after the MRI and started rehab immediately. The estimated return for me was during tryouts, but I knew I couldn’t rush myself because I could reinjure my knee.

I spoke with the coaches. They assured me that I would have a spot on the team, but that I would have to work my way back into the lineup. I was up for the challenge. I played for Rye High School JV soccer team, central attacking midfielder.

Sophomore year rolled by, and I was back in the groove.  I enjoyed a successful season, but that would end prematurely.  In March I felt the same knee pain. This time the result was different.

I went in for a doctor’s visit in New York City. Turns out it wasn’t my knee that was the issue, it was actually my hip. I had to see a hip specialist to see what the next step was because my club team had planned to go on a trip to Germany. I was afraid my trip would be in jeopardy. The doctor told me flat out that I had a torn labrum in my hip along with a hip impingement, which needed to be dealt with as soon as possible.

I continued to play soccer with unbearable amounts of pain, trying to avoid the option of surgery and hoping that my hip would heal magically. Of course it wouldn’t.

I was playing Junior Varsity soccer my sophomore year of high school when one day I was running down the field chasing after the ball and felt something tear. At first, I thought it was something small, but after multiple visits to the doctors I found out that it was much bigger than that.

I found out that I had a torn labrum and that I needed surgery immediately. My season was done. When I heard those first words from the doctor, I kept my emotions in, but once I got into the car, I burst into tears. I didn’t say a word because I was so shocked, and angry, and disappointed. I felt like my life was completely turned around.

Surgery. Back to square one.

I expected this year at Williston to be injury-free. Finally. I was completely wrong. I only got to play in one game. I tore a tendon in my ankle in that first game, and the season was done.

I couldn’t believe it. All of the things that I had gone through back at my old high school came back. The doubts, the anger, the frustration. But I tried something different this time. I tried staying positive, looking at it from a different angle.

I finally decided that I was done with soccer. I couldn’t enjoy the sport anymore.

Varsity Soccer Coach John Chiavaroli has lost some of his players to injuries. He felt my pain–not physically–but the inner pain of a dream lost, or at the least diverted.

“It was certainly difficult for me to accept that you were going to be out for the season,” he said. “The team needed your distribution in the center of midfield, and we were not as deep as we needed to be at times during the year because you could not play.  For me personally, I was upset that you had been so focused on playing soccer after recovering from your hip injury, that I really felt terrible when you hurt your ankle. However, I was very impressed with the way that you handled the situation–you always kept a positive outlook.”

He added, “Regrettably, one of our players broke his leg last year in a game, and he went through some very intense treatment to try to get him back to 100% physical ability. I would be lying if I said that I don’t think about it anymore–it’s just not true. It affected me deeply, and it still does. It is not easy to think about. This boy I am speaking of was just like you, in that, he kept positive despite the fact that he had been dealt a bad hand, so to speak. I admire him as a person as well, and I often think about him, hoping that he is well.”

It will be very hard to enjoy life without soccer, I am hoping that I will find something enjoyable to do to ease the pain of giving up the sport. It was a real struggle for me to overcome this injury; the negative thoughts kept going around in my head. I felt like I was falling back into the state of depression that I had really struggled to get out of.

The plan is for me is college, and to focus on my academics. I plan to study Multimedia Journalism at Lynn University. I cannot wait to get started. I need to find another interest that could help me recuperate with giving up soccer.

To stay positive I need to focus on the things that can make me happy in life. A big part of my happiness was soccer, but since that is gone now I have my friends to cheer me up and keep me active. I have my family who are there for me when I need them the most and they have been the best kind of help that I could ask for.