AC McFadden

Eight years is a long time to commit to something, whether it's a relationship or staying at one job. I devoted eight years of my life to basketball. From grueling practices, late games, and thousands of dollars towards injuries, I gave basketball my all. I started playing in third grade and, despite not being very good, fell in love with the game. Leading up to middle school, I attended every lesson or camp at my school. All I wanted was to be ready for my middle school season, because that would determine if I played in high school. When sixth grade finally came, I was so ready for October- for the start of the season. Unfortunately, my arm wasn’t as ready as I was.

The first week of sixth grade, I broke my elbow on a field trip to a trampoline park. It was such a random injury, definitely the strangest I’ve had to date. I was playing “wipeout” where you jump over a moving pole. However, I decided to do a backflip over the moving pole (it is important to know I did not and still do not know how to do a backflip), and the way I landed, I snapped my elbow. Months of physical therapy later, I was finally cleared for basketball season, but still felt restricted. In hindsight, this injury was the origin of my bad luck, the origin of being “injury prone”.

Over the next four years I experienced a strange amount of injuries. An elbow to the forehead, leading to a serious concussion and triggering chronic migraines. I sprained my ankles atleast six times, leading to months of crutches and boots and a tear in my left ankle ligaments. Two bruised ribs from the first, and thankfully last, charge I took. I hurt my knee twice, dislocating my knee cap and continuing to play on it. This led to the eventual degradation of the cartilage in my knee, and a long time in physical therapy. Potentially the most important injury is the toll this sport had on my mental health.

Four out of eight of those years I spent isolated by injury. There were times I got to play and truly be apart of the team, but the majority of my time was spent on the sidelines watching everyone else get to do what I loved. Finally, after eight years, I chose to walk away from the sport I had spent half of my life loving. I gained so much from my time with the sport: loyalty, commitment, responsibility. The list could go on and on. But most importantly, I learned how to accept and persevere through bad circumstances. While I wish my time playing basketball had gone differently, I would not change a single thing because it made me the person I am today. The door has closed on that chapter of my life, but I will always love the sport and be grateful for what that experience gave me.