“Balance is about wholeness. When one is whole, one is holy, even saintly. Being a person of balance means to be integrated in mind, body, and spirit. The successful athlete recognizes this by paying equal attention to training, skills, and practice as well as aspects such as stress, nutrition, sleep, and relationships. These must be balanced to positively affect the performance of the athlete. Perspective plays an important role in living a balanced life. Perspective means “to see through; to see clearly”. It allows us to truly see ourselves and our situations, helping us to deal with injury, change, and loss. Balance requires healthy relationships with others as well as with God’s creation.”

When I read this quote I was able to immediately relate it to my injury that I suffered during my freshman year here at Neumann. During a game against Courtland I tore my PCL ligament and was required to have surgery with an expected rehabilitation period of 11 months. Not only did this cut my freshman year short, it was supposed to cut my sophomore season in half. This was devastating news to me. The only thing that got me through it was the “BALANCE” of the support system that I had built up around me. Since I had never sustained an injury of this magnitude I had to learn to balance my time. For every hour that the rest of the team was practicing on the ice (something I wasn’t able to do), I had to spend twice that in the training room and/or in the weight room. Sal, our trainer, made sure that when I was able to get into the training room he was there to help guide me. I also had to account for my school work, off ice training, and the everyday chores such as cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and etc. that had become much less convenient being in crutches. Every time that I was experiencing a hiccup, someone helped me regain my balance. They helped me gain stability when I was feeling imbalanced and helpless. I had great roommates, parents, and friends keep me on the right track back to getting on the ice. These healthy relationships were my relief in times when I thought my plate was full.