Play for Her

As I sat on the examination table waiting for what seemed like hours, I was praying. Praying for good news, praying that somehow I would see a miracle. Soon the door opened and the doctor looked at me with a weak smile, then proceeded to tell me my ACL was indeed torn. The news hit me like a brick. My heart sunk and my eyes welled up with tears. How could this happen to me? Why me? I kept asking myself over and over again, why me? I'm still trying to figure out why it was me, but I know one thing for sure, I will not give up.

When the word got out that my ACL was torn, many people questioned why I was still pursuing soccer. I normally would just shrug my shoulders and tell them, "Yes the recovery is going to be rough, but it will all be worth it." It takes a true soccer player to understand what I mean. Yes coming back from injuries suck, yes you feel like killing yourself during conditioning, yes you've given up a lot of social time, and yes you can't always eat that brownie. But once you get on that field and feel the rush of adrenaline, feel the competitiveness, and feel the glory of winning, that's when it all becomes worth it. Sometime, somewhere, I fell in love with this game. Just like Mia Hamm said, "Somewhere behind the athlete you've become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back... play for her."

Coming injured into college as a freshman has been no walk in the park. Here I am sitting and watching on the sideline. Day after day I sit and watch my teammates push themselves to the brink of exhaustion, and all I can do is encourage them. Encouraging them I'm sure has helped them a little, but what I don't think they have realized is that just from watching them I have been motivated to want to become better. It has changed my thought process from why me, to why not? Why not push myself to become better, why not take this injury as a fresh start, why not become the best I can be? I have finally remembered, why I did fall in love with soccer.

So thank you teammates and coaches, for your love of the game. Thank you for helping me find motivation to keep moving forward. This season is going to be amazing. Just always remember why you keep playing. Always play for that little girl who found love in the beautiful game.