Ever since I could remember I had a soccer ball at my feet.

Soccer has run through my

family for generations and there is a standard set within my family. It started with my great

grandpa and has extended down to me. My dad and brother were successful in making it to the

Division 1 level of soccer and that has always been my goal. Both my brother and dad suffered

some serious injuries like torn ACL’s and I felt as if it was a curse on my family just waiting to

happen to the next person, eventually my time had come.

It was a beautiful sunny day in New York, I had a soccer game on a Saturday that I was

looking forward to all week. I arrived to the complex of soccer fields each freshly groomed and

painted with crisp lines of white, it could not have been a better day to play the game I love the

most. The smell of fresh cut grass mixed in with a team's odor filled gear is something that I hate

but love to smell. The game started and it could of not went any better, I had got an assist and

scored but then, little did I know what was going to happen next. An opponent came running at

me like a train at full speed and put his foot right through my ankle. The pain was intolerable as I

could not even move from the floor, on such a gorgeous day how did it feel like the clouds

covered over me and rained as if it were a punishment. The swelling of my ankle was like a

sponge filled with water; it went from normal to huge. All of a sudden, I felt as if I was in an

abyss I would never be able to get out of. I knew right away I was on a long road to recovery

sitting there in the urgent care, but I got worse news than I thought it was going to be. I was told

to go see an ankle specialist and get an X-ray. When I did, I received the worst news. I was told I

needed plates and screws put in my ankle to get it back to normal, my mind started racing. All I

could think about was how long would it take me to walk normally again or start running, or if I

could ever get back to the level I was at.

 That thought was my biggest fear in my mind in recovery due to the fact that I needed

help with everything I tried to accomplish. Just walking was a struggle for me and I needed

someone there to help me get out of bed and move every day, I was constricted to very little

movements but I did the best I could to recover as soon as possible. All my family came to

support me through this hard time as I never have experienced something like this before and it

was very heartwarming to see as I knew there was people there to support me. Having my family

there for me while I was hurt was very important to me because they did things for me that I

wasn’t able to do on my own which was being able to get up to go to the bathroom, getting in the

shower, doing laundry and other daily requirements that are essential to my life. They made my

life easier and comforted me during this time of agonizing pain so they were very important to

my recovery.

After weeks of sitting in bed and resting I was finally able to regain some strength in my

shattered ankle. Every day since I was able to walk on my own, I went to a physical therapy and

here I did a lot of rehabilitation which consisted of a lot of ankle movements and stress on my

ankle but this only helped strengthen it more. Physical therapy was a struggle for me as I did a

lot of workouts and movements on my ankle that put me to the test mentally. The only thing that

was going through my head during these workouts was me on the field scoring a goal and

celebrating with my teammates, that’s what gave me the motivation I needed in order to get over

this obstacle in my life. Over the next couple of months between balancing school, recovery,

soccer and my social life I was finally back on my feet. It felt like I had control of my life again

and I wasn’t spiraling all over the place. Things started to click back into place and before you

know it, I was running again and playing soccer. I missed the feeling of running with the wind
blowing my hair back and it felt so good to experience that again. A week later the doctor

cleared me to finally go back to training and I have never felt more joy in my life.

It was the start of my junior year of high school and it was the most important season of

my life because this is the time where universities start to scout so I recovered from my ankle

injury at just the right time. Arriving to the freshly cut grass field put a never-ending smile on my

face and it got even wider when I saw all my teammates arrive. That day was one I wouldn’t

forget because it was that moment, I knew that I didn’t just have a team, but I had a family. They

were so supportive of me getting over what I faced and they made my presence feel so welcome.

From then on, I had this burning desire in me to not only get back to my level, but to get even

better than I was before. I knew I had to step up my abilities this year due to the recruitment

process for college, so I started to go to the gym, eating more healthier foods, and doing extra

time with the soccer ball on my own. I had a piece of paper that I hung up on my door that

contained goals, there were a lot of small ones and then then I had my one big goal and that was

to get recruited to play college soccer.

A few months later I am in Florida playing in front of hundreds of college coaches who

are looking to add to their program. The thought of this had me shaking in my shoes because

there were also thousands of other players in the same position as me who are there to impress

these coaches. Coming from the dark and cold New York to the warm and sunny Florida

definitely uplifted my morale going into these games. I arrived to the complex at 8 in the

morning for my first game and I saw the most beautiful sight as a player. Pure green and freshly

cut grass with newly painted white lines, to top it off the grass was wet from the dew built up

over the night. As a player, you dream of playing on a professional level field and this was about

the closest taste I got. So, there I was sitting on the bench before the game lacing up my cleats
and putting my uniform on while listening to my electronic dance music and soaking up the sun.

Seeing all the coaches walk in with their university gear instantly sent chills through my body as

I knew it was now or never to make an impression. My injury was still lingering on my mind

when I was warming up because I knew it was now where I would have to play the hardest that I

have ever had to. I didn’t know if it would be able to go at 100% because I never tried it, I would

usually be playing timid and scared compared to how I played before. So, I decided that if I was

going to play at 100%, I had to feel like I was at 100%. I immediately tore my ankle brace off

because it acted as a mental barrier for me and showed a sign of weakness to the opponent. From

that moment, I played the best soccer I have played in my whole career so far.

After those 3 games, I was speaking to multiple coaches from Division 1 schools across

the northeast. That decision to take my ankle brace oof soon came to be one of the best decisions

of my life as I feel it got me to reach my ultimate goal. Soon enough I found myself at Fairfield

University on a gorgeous day touring the campus with the coaches and meeting some of the

players on the team. That visit solidified my decision on choosing Fairfield and that’s when I

completed the goal I set so long ago with a broken ankle, I was going to play Division 1 soccer.

It was so nice to see how proud my family and friends were of me and knowing how much

support I had. This obstacle I had to overcome was the only reason I was able to accomplish my

goals and now I am living my dream and making my family proud.