Playing a sport is challenging enough. From the thrill of competing to the pressure of performing well, there are already challenges planted in sports. Because of this, setbacks, can be difficult for athletes to face.

Alex Grigorov is a freshman on the varsity soccer team at North. During the first practice of the season, Grigorov suffered a broken ankle on his plant foot.

“It was the first practice and I was taking a shot, and my plant foot twisted really bad and broke,” Grigorov said.

A lot of emotion can come with an injury like this, especially because of how and when it happened.

“ It’s been hard,” Grigorov said. “The first few months, I couldn’t really do anything and it made me pretty frustrated. It made me feel sad, and I felt bad when I couldn’t play. I had to watch the team.”

Neeti Ved is another athlete at North who has recently been injured. In the summer of 2024, Ved tore her ACL.

“I felt a pop in my knee, and then I found out I tore my ACL,” Ved said.

Ved had surgery on her knee but the issues didn’t stop there.

“About seven months later, I tore my meniscus, and so I got a second surgery.” Ved said. “And then, I got an infection so I got a third surgery.” 

Injuries can alter plans and can take away opportunities that an athlete may have had otherwise.

“I didn’t expect to tear my ACL,” Ved said. “Then after the second surgery, I had some trouble because I had college visits lined up and college camps and I couldn’t play. So that was hard.”

Grigorov and Ved both shared that the impact that their physical therapists had on them during their recovery. They said that their physical therapists were some of their biggest supporters. 

“I really enjoyed [physical therapy]. It was good to get back into doing stuff,” Grigorov said.

Ved agreed with Grigorov.

“Physical therapy was really good, I really loved it,” Ved said. “I loved the environment. I still visit them at least once a week. Honestly, [physical therapy] was about [recovering]. My biggest supporters were probably my physical therapists. They would all check in on me and text me.”

Another important thing for an athlete to do when recovering from an injury is to find motivation to get back to where they were before the injury. Sometimes, this comes more easily than others.

“I definitely feel very motivated to get back to playing sports. [I] do whatever [my doctor] says so I can get back as quickly as I can,” Grigorov said.

On the other hand, sometimes an athlete needs a little help to find their motivation.

“I felt motivated after my first surgery, but after my second surgery, I didn’t,” Ved said. “I actually went to see a sports psychologist to help me get back to where I was.”

In the end, Ved and Grigorov agreed that the hard work paid off when they were able to get back on the field.

“My physical therapist actually came to my first game back. It was really fun. I played the whole game. It was really cool,” Ved said.