My 04 DD hurt her knee during the first state cup game on 2/4/17. Originally thought to be a torn ACL...she heard the dreaded pop! MRI confirmed along with a minor meniscus tear. Surgery on 2/14. Once inside, her ortho discovered the ACL was intact but detached along with a sizable piece of bone. He was able to place the ACL back like a puzzle piece. Because it was not a tear, and more of a bone fracture, the estimated recovery went from the usual 12 months to 4.
She was deciding between 3 flight 1 teams for the upcoming season, and committed to one the night before. All three coaches were very supportive and went out of their way to make my kid feel that she was welcome come out and train whenever she was willing and able.
PT started the day after surgery with a passive motion machine, 6 hours a day, for 12 days. Then PT twice week. 1 1/2 hour sessions. Plus exercises at home daily. After a month, she was off crutches. It was hard work. No joke. For a 12 year old nonetheless. As parents we want to make things as pleasant as we can. My kid was awesome. I am still humbled by her perseverance. Plus, we was being dragged to her 03 sister's games. Her sister just switched clubs to help form a new 03 team...I will come back to this in a moment.
On June 8th, her ortho gave her full clearance. She was partially cleared and could run a month earlier, but no soccer. In the meantime her older sister's team was struggling. They had 15 strong players, solid defense, but no one could consistently finish. The coach asked my 04 to come train. She eased into it doing more as she felt comfortable. PT continued once a weak. Testing her knee agility and core strength. By June 15th, her injured knee was 96 to 97% of her other knee on a variety of strength and agility tests. yesterday, over 100%. She is still wearing a solid ACL brace to play.
Now to the OP, She joined her older sisters's team for the Irvine Summer classic. They were admittedly sand bagging a bit, playing fight 3, but the team had yet to score a goal. Game 1 ends 0 - 0. My recovering kid playing striker and big sis playing center back. Her new coach was very supportive and we had an understanding on how long she would play and signals were arranged if she wanted out. We could tell she wasn't her normal self. No full speed, less urgency in 50/50 situations, etc. She played 2/3 of the game. Understandable. No surprises. Game 2: 1 - 0 with my recovering 04 scoring the first goal and getting and yellow card! Game 3: 1 - 0 with an assist. They ended up winning the final 1-0 with my recovering kid scoring the goal.
I cannot imagine a better way for her to get back into it. It was a fairy book kinda thing. Especially after all she had been through. We haven't reached out to the 04 flight 1 coaches, and decided to keep her with her sister's flight 2 o3 team for now.
Soccer has become fun again for our family.
