In the fight to win back my fitness and health, I have learned that the things you love can sometimes break your heart. This summer I sustained my fifth knee injury on my right knee, warranting the fourth surgery of my college soccer career. I have made the journey from
Every time I enter my garage, I pass by my soccer cleats. The soccer cleats I ran thousands of miles in. The soccer cleats I tied before each practice and game. The soccer cleats I scored and assisted goals with. The soccer cleats I celebrated several regional championships in. And
I never imagined that my collegiate golf career would end the way it did… Since golf is not a contact sport, I knew the chances of me experiencing a career-ending injury was low. I’ve never even been sidelined due to an injury before. I’ve always envisioned myself playing four years
For my whole life, my sole motivation for working out was sports. It was always something I did with a specific purpose in mind. I was running to pass my fitness tests or I was lifting to get faster and more explosive. While I had always heard people talk about
Broken femur, fractured tibial plateau and fibular head, stress fractures, tendonitis, among many others were the injuries that seemed to define my skiing career. Just when I thought I had made it through my first entire season with no significant injury, the worst one hit. Number two in the Reynolds
As a kid growing up, I had always envisioned myself playing college football. I played on two teams for about 5 years before making the transition to high school ball. In the spring, you would find me playing both baseball and lacrosse. I didn’t love lacrosse that much, so I
I want to start with trigger warning. This trigger warning is for anxiety, depression, and self harm. Now with that out of the way and my mother sufficiently shocked – I promise I am okay! I want to tell my story so that athletes know that they are not alone
When you’ve lived the majority of your life viewing yourself as only an athlete, it can be pretty difficult to switch gears and imagine yourself doing something else. Such was the case with me two years ago. I had been waiting about a year and a half for my opportunity
The first time I acknowledged that I was mourning my own life while simultaneously living it, I felt weak. After decades of mental resiliency I was ashamed to tell anyone that I was lost; how do you ask someone to help you find your identity? Who could possibly begin to
My spirit has been heavy and troubled so deeply that it is hard to explain. I write this open letter to you not only in reaction to this week’s events, but to be proactive, with the intent to spread awareness, deploy empathy, and elicit an authentic form of activism from
(C) 2017, The Sideline Perspective