The Second Break

It was a bitter cold winter in Chamblee as Sophia sat out the required amount of time while she strengthened her arm back into shape. She worked very hard with her travel team to shake off the dust and cobwebs to improve her already impressive soccer skills. She was ready to go back to work and was determined more than ever to make the team again that year.

She had to make it.

When she returned to school for her sophomore year she learned that there was a new soccer coach for the girls’ varsity squad. This was exciting news for Sophia as it meant a possible new game plan. But before this year’s tryouts had even gotten underway Sophia had somehow managed to acquire the flu. She was beginning to think that she must be cursed. Fighting through the constant nausea and dizziness Sophia was hoping that the new coach, who had never seen her play and did not know her skill set, would be able to see her athletic prowess despite her recent run of bad luck.

She fought through the lingering effects of the illness to be present at tryouts but she was still afraid that it wasn’t going to be good enough. Thankfully her coaches did not share Sophia’s pessimistic point of view. When Sophia went to look at the varsity list the next day she was surprised to see her name near the top.

She couldn’t believe that she made it again.

After basking in the excitement and relief Sophia thought about what her goals should be for this upcoming season. This season she was determined to earn her starting position back, and once she had it back she was determined to never lose it again.

She participated in the preseason tournament but her previous coach of last year had obviously talked to her new coach and unfortunately she was only playing a few minutes a game. She was angry, she was sad, and those unpleasant emotions propelled her into decisive action. She begged her father to take her to a private soccer coach so that she could deepen her already impressive set of skills.

He obliged.

Sophia began a serious training regime. She worked with a trainer on the weekends and by herself every day after school in her back yard. Over time her commitment and dedication for improvement began to show. Her high school coach noticed her progress and she began playing more minutes. The more she played, the more her confidence grew. She began to feel like the leader she always knew she was.

The team ended the season with a mediocre record but Sophia knew that next year had to be different. She would use the off-season to prefect her skills. Or so she though…Sophia chose her favorite holiday to have all of her friends over her house for some teenage fun: Halloween. Most of her friends happened to be cheerleaders. In attendance were also all of her brother’s friends since they were only a grade apart.

So with guys and girls at her house, the front yard became a tumbling and tossing gym. Sophia asked one of her brothers’ friends, Robert, to hold her waist and launch her, while continuing to hold on, into the air; it allowed you to do a perfect toe touch. Sophia was in heaven attempting a sport she had always wanted to participate in.

The only thing was that Robert forgot to hold on. Sophia flew high into the air. Her friends were in awe at the height of her body. She heard “holy cow”, “WOAH”, “She’s too high”. This was all before gravity yanked her back down to earth.

SPLAT!

She landed, back first, flat on the grass. She was gasping for air and had never felt so helpless in her life. After she regained her breath, with the help of her friends, she walked inside and immediately put ice on her back.

Her dad had told them not to play outside so she decided not to tell her him what had happened and how much pain she was in. After a few days she could only feel the pain if she ran or did any sort of exercises. She didn’t think too much of it.  

Two days later Sophia went to her travel soccer practice and continued to play for two weeks. While she was playing she had a teammate crack her back before every practice and every game. Sophia didn’t want a doctor, a coach or her dad to tell her she had to stop playing so she continued to say nothing. She loved the game too much.

She scored two of the most amazing goals of her life and after that game her coach walked up to her and said, “Something is not right.” She looked at him and said, “What do you mean?” He said “You are being lazy with your shots. They look amazing but they are not you.” So she finally told him why she was being lazy and he asked her to go see a doctor. So after that game she confided to her dad about her pain. She listened to them and went to the doctor and got x-rays. What came next was devastating.

Sophia had broken her back.

X-rays revealed that her T-7 vertebra was chipped and that she would be out of soccer for three months. She started sobbing. Again, another season was shattered. The next day she got fitted for a full upper-body brace that she would have to wear for 23 hours a day. She only took it off to shower. Her only saving grace, it would be off in time for her junior season tryouts.