Michigan High School Football Game Analysis

The October air was brisk, the sun had set, and the moon had risen.The lights and speakers could be seen and heard from miles away. The night had taken over everywhere except inside the Varsity Stadium where time seemed to stand still on friday nights with a thousand or two fans of all ages in attendance. This is Michigan high school football. Every year there is one game that has more fans and more energy, the homecoming game. Playing in this game is like a movie or video game. You have the spotlight on you. As a sophomore in high school, this was my first time playing in a homecoming game. This game changed will have an everlasting effect. On the first drive out of halftime, I tore my MCL on a missed field goal. The MCL is the ligament on the inside of the knee, giving it support and keeping the knee from collapsing in. Luckily, for me, the MCL
is not as vital to the overall structure of your knee like its famous, sometimes career ending brother, the ACL.
This means you can come back just as strong as before from an MCL injury, even without surgery. At first I had no idea what had happened because everything had happened so fast. One second I was watching the field goal and the next I was on the ground with no control of my leg below the knee. For two weeks I had to wear an immobilizer brace and walk on crutches while I went to many appointments and an MRI. The orthopedic surgeon who worked with me was honest with me on the first appointment and told me I was done for this season, especially because I was only a sophomore and had to mor.e years ahead of me. As a fifteen year old I lived in the now and had zero thoughts about my future, not even what I was going to eat for lunch the next day. I had no concern for my next two years. The only thing I was concerned with was that we were 3-3 and in the middle of a playoff run. I had been devastated when I was told my season
had to be cut short because I had never experienced being told I can’t play the game I love. The rest of that week I did everything I could to be apart of practice and help my team better themselves. After my MRI, I was told no activity for eight weeks. At that point all I could do was sit and wait. There was no physical therapy or surgery that could help me. I was on my own for recovery. Everyday I went to practice and did my best to help out my team. I had almost felt like a coach. After the season, as soon I was cleared to workout out I took a trip to the gym. Let me tell you, it was the worst. Everything hurt along with my knee . I couldn't breathe when I ran and I couldn't feel my arms or legs after I lifted. The only thing that got me through those workouts was the thought of preparing for the 2016 football season. When I was told I couldn't play, I was shook for a couple of days. After those few days I took to mentally recover, I got back to work and did all I could. I showed my dedication to my team when I didn't give up on the season and came to practice everyday. In my recovery process mental strength played a big role. I could have just thrown in the towel and stopped when it got difficult, but I persevered and continued to get stronger everyday. I am proud of how I handled myself for the remainder of the football season and how I never gave up on getting stronger both physically and mentally. Going through this has helped me stay strong mentally and gave me new appreciation for football. Most importantly, this helped me look to the future and make decisions based on how they will affect me down the road.