THE HARDEST TRIAL
Keaton McCoy
Life lessons are something that can occur almost
anywhere in any way in life. Maybe it is on family
vacation to Disneyland and the memories created change
your life. Maybe it is hiking on a dirt trail through a dense
woods alone and you find yourself. Or even at a local
restaurant with a great group of friends who mean the
world to you. That is how I envisioned the most
memorable things in my life would be. Not lying on a
couch. Lying on a couch, in a living room I had grown
up in, unable to stand alone, with only two close friends
and my parents for comfort. In the few months after my
surgery I would learn a great deal about myself, and about
what really should matter in life.
I was in my sophomore year of college and
thought of little else besides soccer. Soccer. The sport I
had played for seventeen years, watched religiously on
weekends, and was all my friends and I seemed to be able
to talk about. It was life.
But as too often happens too often, the things
we love get taken from us. It was that spring soccer was
taken from me. I remember the day clearer than anything
in my life. At the time I felt like I had never played better
in my life, my confidence was at an all-time high, and the
possibilities seemed endless. With one collision, one late
hit from an opponent, one life-changing moment, my
knee twisted and I heard a pop. It was the most painful
thing I have ever experienced in my life. I had ruptured
my right anterior cruciate ligament. My spring season was
cut short and surgery was inevitable. One collision and
seventeen years of dedication, practice, and the sport that
was my passion was gone. That was when I really began
to learn about myself.
After my surgery I was completely immobilized
for a full week. I could not stand, walk, go to the
bathroom, eat, shower, anything by myself. I had never
been so helpless. I always had a large group of friends
but in trying times, your true friends really shine. My two
best friends, Alex Balmer and Jon Thompson spent the
full week with my at my own house to ensure that I had
all the help I needed. It was with their help that I realized
what really mattered in life. And it changed me.
“I REMEMBER THAT DAY CLEARER
THAN ANYTHING IN MY LIFE”
My two best friends just weeks before the surgery.
They showed me what it truly meant to be “best” friends.
They drove me to and from my therapy sessions, helped
me get to and from school for the last few weeks of class
and even kept me entertained as I remained confined to
my couch for weeks.
As much as they did for me, it was my father who
gave me the courage to play soccer again. After months
and months of rehab, I never really did feel ready to play
again. I was nervous. There was no other way to describe
it. All I could think of was the pain. That surgery
haunted me every time I thought about stepping on the
field again. My dad however told me a story of his worst
injury. He had been struck by a baseball in the head while
playing when he was younger and it had nearly killed him.
Now between you and me that is some steep competition.
He helped me find the courage to step back onto the field
one last time.
The thing about today’s day and age is that too
much is taken for granted by people. With the ease of
technology it is so easy to get caught up on a phone or a
computer and people just do not take the time to cherish
one another that they should. These bonds that we create
in life are far more important than any material
possession that we own. For me personally I have been
able to turn much of my life around because I have
known that I have my close friends and family to rely on
as support. I may have never been the same soccer player
again after my injury but that did not matter. What
mattered is that I did play again, I learned of my own
vulnerabilities, and most importantly, I learned that the
people who really matter, are the ones who stand by you
forever, no matter the situation. That is what everyone
should really be looking for, and lucky for me, I’m sure
that I’ve already found it for myself.
My final soccer game for Avila University, supported as ever by my parents who never missed a game.