Lilly

I’m back. I’m officially 100 percent back!!

A couple of weeks ago, I went to one of my club’s winter training sessions, and it was, shall we say, rough around the edges. I missed touches; I didn’t scrimmage; I was confident in only a few spare moments of success. But this weekend, my school offered two open gym sessions for both the girls’ and boys’ teams. Not everyone showed up—a lot of players participate in other school sports, so they had practices to attend—but those that did came to play, and for the first time in three months, I was one of them.

And for the first time in three months, I kicked ass.

It wasn’t perfect. The gym floor was dusty and slippery, and sometimes it was all any of us could do to keep our balance. But once I adjusted, I felt almost like my old self: quick passes, textbook steals, tiny touches. I connected quickly with one of the boys on my team, and it wasn’t long before everything clicked fully into place for one brief, shining moment.

It had been almost a year since I had scored in a game situation. What if I choked? What if I missed the goal? What if I missed the ball?

Eleven years of muscle memory always win out over nerves. I hit the ball like I had never been away from the game—and nothing compares to the giddy, heady joy of scoring that first goal of a comeback.

I scored a lot. I missed a lot, too. Today, my legs, hips, and abs are heavy and sore with the strain I put them through. But I wouldn’t trade this feeling for the world. I still have a month until regular practices to get in shape—and get used to the intensity of the game again. This is my year. I’m ready to break some records. ♦