Hey America! It’s great to talk to you again. This article I am going to talk about something which is very close to my heart, emotions and passion.

It’s always very important when you choose a new school or a new college, or you try something new or take on a new experience, that you keep in the back of your mind a contingency plan. You should not go into a new environment as a student or as an athlete without an alternative, an alternate plan, another way of doing things.

Let me tell you what I mean because I think this is very important, and something for which you should all prepare, even with your parents’, teachers’ and your coaches’ assistance.

Yes, I’m really glad I picked Taft to be my new school, and my new home away from my Hong Kong home. Mostly because I was so very ecstatic at the beginning of the school year to finally be playing the goalie on The Taft School Varsity Girls’ Ice Hockey Team with other girls my own age and ability, and with the same motivation and enthusiasm for the game. And, even more importantly, to be able to represent The Taft School in the Founder’s League in New England. You can tell my level of excitement. This was everything I had worked for over the past eight years, and all that I really wanted at this stage in my early teenage life.

But, then a freak accident. Something happened I never would have anticipated, expected or planned, even in my wildest dreams. In mid September, in the first week of the Fall Taft School sports season, I ripped the anterior cruciate ligament, commonly known as the ACL in my left knee playing goalie for The Taft School Junior Varsity Girls’ Soccer Team.

The ACL is the ligament that literally holds the knee together, supports the joint and assists with lateral movement. ACL injuries are rare for ice hockey goalies. But statistics indicate female athletes are four times more likely to tear their ACL than male athletes. The ACL tear is very common, particularly in sports like basketball, soccer, lacrosse and field hockey, and especially when the athlete lands on the foot, maybe at an odd angle, improperly and unknowingly impacts the knee joint, and doesn’t know how to bend the knees and lower the center of gravity to absorb the shock. Unfortunately, female athletes who play these particular sports are more prone to ACL tears because the increased angle between a female’s hips and her knees, referred to in layman’s terms as ‘knock knees’ exerts greater pressure on the ligaments in the knee joint. Ice hockey goalies are a lot less prone to ACL tears and, if anything, ice hockey goalies place greater pressure on the ligaments connecting the thigh muscle at the top, and the shin muscle at the bottom to the patella (the knee cap) rather than the ACL.

In early October, Dr. Eric Olson, a great orthopedic surgeon performed my operation in the Connecticut Children’s Ward at St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, Connecticut. He replaced my torn ACL with a new ACL from a donor tissue (rather than using my own hamstring because this procedure would be less painful in the recovery), and, he threaded the new ACL into my knee through two tiny holes at the top and bottom of my knee rather than opening up the front of my knee (because we did not want to interfere with the knee cap). Remember, because an ice hockey goalie lands on the ice with bent knees, the knees and the knee caps are probably the most important part of our bodies, and we must care and protect them as much as possible with proper fitting pads, exact movements and muscle strengthening.

And so, a few short eight weeks later, but what has seemed like a lifetime, after leaving the hospital the day after the surgery, and after some initial minor pain during the first couple of weeks while trying to maneuver around school attending classes with my leg bound in bandages and stitches sitting in a wheel chair, and then hobbling around on crutches, first two and then one with the help of my many wonderful school friends, nurses and teachers, and going to daily rehabilitation physiotherapy under Ms. Marianne Laska’s, The Taft School Head Sports Trainer’s wonderful guidance, I am now up and walking without crutches. I can even walk up and down (carefully!) stairs, swim and squat.

BUT. BUT. Yes, a very big BUT. It will take at least one year, yes one year, and for some athletes depending on how well they recover, commit to physiotherapy and regain their muscle strength particularly in the quadriceps in the thighs, as long as two years to fully recover to the point the athlete feels emotionally and psychologically ready to return to playing sports. Here’s the time line. From the day of the surgery to walking without crutches: about two months; walking down stairs comfortably: four months; running: six months; sport specific exercising: eight months; full return to playing sports: one year; and, completely natural and unconscious sport participation: two years! Wow, a long haul. And through all this, I have to make sure I do not walk too fast, move quickly sideways and hope the ACL graphs onto the bone and the body does not reject it. Phew. So much to remember.

So, in light of this mishap, and with regard for all the best laid plans of mice, men, women, girls, boys, athletes, teachers, coaches, parents, and whoever else is in your life, it is essential you have an alternative, a PLAN B. You cannot rely entirely on one thing, activity or interest to take you through life. Likewise, we as athletes cannot depend exclusively upon our sports to get us where we want to go, into school or university. We must have something else as a backup, perhaps a musical talent, an artistic bent, a community venture, BUT better yet excellent academic marks and SSAT and SAT scores.

Yes, it is always very important to take care of your body, to exercise, to stay fit, to eat well, to rest and to perform at your highest level athletically, but you must keep in the front of your mind that there is always the possibility for a freak accident, an odd occurrence, something which hits you right out of the blue when you least expect it, something totally and completely unrelated and unexpected which puts a wrench into the works, and knocks everything off course, and this regardless of your body’s physical condition, strength and performance level. So you always need something else. In fact, you MUST have something else. Fortunately for me, I am really into my music (if I didn’t play so much ice hockey, I wanted to be a songwriter and singer), my art (my second passion), my theatre (I love to work behind the stage), and even some other sports (for me, I love riding horses and skiing). And of course, I have always kept my marks in the high 80’s and low 90’s. I have to work on my SATs though.

To think this would happen to me was the furthest thing from my mind. I had spent the last eight years in Canada, Hong Kong and America preparing for coming to the United States to play goalie on a school girls’ and university women’s varsity ice hockey team, and I had the next six years of my life planned attending school and university in New England. Now I must rethink my plans, and restrategize these next two years.

It is so very difficult indeed being injured at the beginning of the sports season, and for me, at the beginning of a really crucial period in my sports career, because the Junior and Senior years at school are critical for securing a spot as the goalie on a university varsity women’s ice hockey team. The demand on your spirit and soul is taxing when you’re physically injured, and you have had to deal with major surgery which directly impacts your true passion.

But you know, I have found great solace in supporting and cheering my Taft School Varsity Girl’s Ice Hockey Team from the sidelines. Mr. James Duval, the Taft School Varsity Girls’ Ice Hockey Team Coach has given me the Team Manager’s position, so I will continue to be a part of and work with my team from the bench, especially with our two goalies.

So, my advice. Talk with your parents, your teachers and your coaches about your activities, interests and sports. Work out a plan, reexamine it every so often, and revisit the schedule, process and objective. Add a healthy and balanced mix of theatrical, musical, academic and other activities and interests to your sports career. Participate in two or three sports, to your very best ability because cross training is very beneficial to preventing, protecting and promoting muscle strength, endurance, flexibility and development. Give your body a chance to rest every so often during the holidays and take time off to do something completely different, or even nothing at all, especially if you are a dedicated athlete practicing, training and playing two to three hours a day, every week, all year long. Incorporate cool down exercises and stretching when you have finished your sport, so your body doesn’t go into shock and your muscles lock up on you while you are still hot. Got o bed at a regular time each and every day, and sleep a good eight hours a night to guarantee your muscles have the time to heal, and to give your bones time to grow. Eat properly to give your system the correct nutrients and supplements it requires to provide you with power, strength and bulk.

But most of all, ensure you have some contingencies built into the plan in case something haywire comes along, and puts a hitch into the works. As well, talk to your friends about what they are planning in their lives, and see if they have considered alternate ideas and, in some case, parallel plans which run in tandem and are secondary to your primary goal. Just because you can’t do one thing as a result of a setback, doesn’t mean you can’t do something else equally well.

You might also be interested in reading a book I have just finished reading by Michael Sokolove called ‘Warrior Girls.’ It is about female athletes who have experienced ACL injuries, and in a lot of cases, multiple ACL injuries, and discusses their recovery process. I found the most important aspect of this book is the Prevent Injury and Enhance Performance (PEP) Exercises which have been specifically designed by the Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Group in California, USA to reduce the likelihood of ACL tears. www.aclprevent.com/aclprevention.htm. Many, and more and more coaches of school and university sports teams are using this set of fifteen minute long exercises before practices and games as part of their warm ups. I will start using them soon as part of my rehabilitation program, and then when I return to practicing and playing ice hockey.

Earlier this month, I wrote to Ms. Digit Murphy, the Brown University Varsity Women’s Ice Hockey Team Head Coach who I mentioned in my first article conducted a girls’ ice hockey clinic in Chicago during the 2009 summer which I attended, and told her about my injury. She wrote back to me telling me this kind of injury is what she refers to as “adversary training.” And she is right, because when you are injured seriously, you must face many adversaries which you must overcome, and as a result you become stronger, better, faster and tougher. It also gives you time to think about your life and career goals and objectives, and even more importantly, it gives you the opportunity to refocus, reorganize, replan, maybe even set new goals and objectives and even concentrate on some other equally important aspects of your life, some aspects which may be even more important than what you originally thought.

I leave you with two sayings, both very relevant here. One very Western, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” and one very Asian, “For every door that closes, another one opens,” or, “For every door you walk through, there is another one ahead which is waiting for you to open and walk through.” I guess the American farmers came up with the first one, and it is true, you should always have a few eggs in at least a couple of different baskets, and I know the Chinese like to build houses and gardens with doors and openings that are all in a row, so as you walk through one, you can see the next one as it appears in front of you to consider, open and walk through.

So don’t take an injury as a setback, look at it as a new beginning, and think of the rehabilitation, not so much as an adversary, but rather as a way to prepare you for the next adversary, so that next time, if there is a next time, you will have the skills, tools, knowledge and experience to deal with it positively and constructively, and it creates a way forward, rather than a step back. It will make you stronger, wiser and happier knowing you have an extra bit of “umph” to get you through. I don’t know what it is yet, but there is a new door ahead of me somewhere, waiting for me to open and walk through into the next chapter of my life. I hope it includes sports and ice hockey, but if it doesn’t then I will have my Plan B to carry me through for these next two years and beyond. I haven’t had time yet in these last eight weeks while I have been recovering and rehabilitating to work out my Plan B, but when I have, I will certainly let you know.

You might also want to look up the word ‘serendipity’ because I think it is an appropriate word and relevant concept to consider in making your life and career plans. You will find that it means something that always happens when you least expect it, and usually at times which are most inopportune. The trick is to recognize its value and worth, and make something of it. I intend to make the very best I can out of this misfortune, and turn it into something beneficial, worthwhile and valuable. Remember, you just never know what is beyond that next door, but if you go through it with your eyes wide open knowing serendipity always plays out for the best, then whatever it is, will be right and good, for you, your family, your team, your school, and your friends. Just be open to recognizing it, and doing something with it.

To learn more about my school, you can check out our website: www.taftschool.org.

To know more about me, my goalie ice hockey and future university career, please join me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/zuliahmitchell and see me on YouTube at www.youtube.com/zuliahungmitchell. I have some new videos up, too.

And continue to read my blog about playing ice hockey, here at www.bertagnagoaltending.com.

See you next time America.

Zulia

Previous Blogs from Zulia: 10/19/2009