A bit of perspective from a proud dad.
My daughter is a junior in high school. She’s played softball at a high level since she was 8 years old - a LL superstar and a super-solid catcher and a great hitter in travel. We kept her in a program that was convenient for us as parents and has always focused on development. She thrived. She volunteered to assist with the “littles” when she aged out of LL and loved it, and the kids loved her. She loved playing softball and she loved being a softball player.
In 7th grade, she tore the labrum in her throwing shoulder in a freak accident at home. It was successfully repaired and after many months of rehabilitation, she was right back where she was prior to the injury. She resumed her travel team activity the summer after 8th grade, made JV as a freshman where she caught and called every game with an obscene OPS on top. We were all proud of her comeback. We were told she should start thinking about playing in college by every coach in her orbit. Things were exciting.
The first showcase tournament of her post-freshman summer she was taking fly balls in warmups. She drop-stepped into a hole and we all heard the SNAP followed by her screaming like I had never heard. She was carried her off the field. She completely ruptured the ACL in her right knee and damaged the meniscus. The ACL was replaced, the meniscus repaired. Her summer was spent basically immobilized, watching her friends swim and play and have fun. She made it back in time to play a few JV games her sophomore year, focusing on first base to work the knee back slowly and hitting like it had never happened.
After the end of the season, she continued PT when the meniscus tore again, landing awkwardly during a box jump routine. Another surgery over the summer, this with a much shorter recovery. She worked out like a fiend through the fall and winter.
By all accounts she was strong and ready for the spring. She made varsity and caught almost every game though the first month and a half. This time the bat was slower to come back but it was on its way, but something wasn’t right … sometimes the knee would get “stuck” during her swing and she’d lose range of motion and have unbearable pain for a day or two and then it would just … not hurt anymore.
This week we learned the meniscus in the same knee has most likely torn again and is occasionally binding in the joint. Her season is over. She needs surgery just for the surgeon to figure out what can be done - the MRIs are littered with artifacts from the previous procedures. Her goal is to get back to playing shape for senior year and that will bring her playing days to a close. She doesn’t want to go out like this, but she also has no desire to continue past high school any longer. "One last ride," she said.
Being out created a void that she struggled to fill for a while, but she picked up other hobbies like art and antiquing, she’s made friends outside of the softball community. She collects LPs and cassettes, she loves going to concerts. She still loves softball, but I think she’s gained some perspective through the injuries and time spend rehabbing that it's not all she is. In some ways, it’s been a gift that I don’t know she would have received otherwise. At least I tell myself that. I’m still sad for her … but it helps to know there’s other great things for her on the horizon.
Love your kids, encourage them to have broad interests, make sure it’s always fun for them. It could all be over before anyone wants it to be or plans for.
If you read to this point - thanks for indulging me. Here’s to one last ride, #6.