Heart Breaking beginning, good things to come

Woods Cross got a new football team this last spring.  He has worked these boy and pushed these boys beyond what most of them thought was possible.  Many kids have dropped out because they couldn't take it.  

I have been really impressed with the work ethic he is teaching the boys.  I know that is what it takes to win and after last season there was little hope for success this year.  

Last week they had a team scrimmage.  Tavita, the Tongan boy that went to Island Park with us, is the biggest boy on the team.  He is very strong and a key player for the team this year.  

 

It doesn't take much to receive a serious injury.  Just one wrong step or landing just right.  Somehow everything lined up and Tavita went down.  It doesn't seem possible that something so little could take down a boy so big and strong.  But he went down.  I ran down to the field, I knew he didn't have any family there for him and he is now one of my boys.  The trainer didn't suspect anything too serious but I knew, from experience, there was more to it.  Luckily, the orthopedic surgeon that worked on Jr was there watching his son, he came down to the field to check on Tavita also.  After several tests he was suspicious of a serious injury but when your are testing a boy with legs that size nothing was certain.  

I took Tavita to the doctor the next day and we got him set up for an MRI.  

We just found out he tore his ACL which means he is out for the season.  

It breaks my heart to see him out, his senior year, and after working so hard in the off season.  

WX had their first game this week.  It was a preseason game agains a 6A school so we knew it would be challenging.  Seeing these boys run out on the field, after all the opposition they have faced in the past year, I couldn't help but cry a little.  I wanted so bad to see these boys succeed.  

With very little depth in the team roster the boys were at such a huge disadvantage.  Several of our good players had to play both offense and defense.  The boys played hard but in the end lost the game 35-14.  I wish the game could have been closer in score.  Honestly this could have ended worse.  I just hope the boys don't loose hope on the season early.  

Avram played nearly the entire game.  He could hardly walk when he got home.  He and Stefan, who also played nearly the entire game, are both here today.  Neither of them can hardly move.  

On a good note.  After 3 years and seeing Tavita get hurt, I finally talked Avram into wearing some good knee braces.  I have bought him some before but he refuses to wear them.  I found out my health insurance will cover 80% of the knee brace so we got him one for each knee.  He wasn't sold on the idea of wearing a knee brace but I knew it only takes one time that the knee brace saves you and you realize you can live without them.  We were able to get them for Avram on Thursday.  Friday after the game Avram admitted that he was very thankful for the knee braces and they had in fact saved him several times that game.