Injured football player Nate Smith shares some post-injury wisdom
“I was engaged in a block … my left foot got stuck in the turf and my knee caved in. I heard three pops and a crack and that’s when I figured it was something bad.” Nate Smith, senior varsity football player, tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus on Sept. 3, and will not be able to play for the rest of the season.
To make a complete recovery, Smith will be unable to play football for up to 8 months. While this isn’t how he envisioned spending his last season, Smith has been able to make the best of his senior year so far with support from his team and coaches.
“My teammates have been really, really awesome throughout this process. The night I got hurt, I got tons of text messages from pretty much everyone. They were offering support and saying, ‘if you need anything, I’m here for you.’ It’s just really cool to be a part of a family like that,” Smith said.
Nate’s teammates miss getting to play with him but his injury has given them the opportunity to play with a purpose.
“It’s always heartbreaking to see one of your teammates and best friends go down in practice, especially your senior year. A lot of us seniors have been playing with him since our first year ever playing football and he’s always been a leader on and off of the field. We all wish we could be playing with him but, now we’re all playing for him,” James Bonanno, senior varsity football player, said.
Despite his current trials, Nate continues to be optimistic about his future. As much as he would like to get back on the field, this teenager takes a mature look at what his future holds for him.
“I’m allowed to [play again] once I get cleared but I think I’m just going to focus on my education. Whatever school I end up going to, if they have a football team, I might try to walk-on but I’m not sure yet. It’s definitely an option just because I love the sport so much,” Smith said.
Though he can be seen supporting his team on the sidelines, crutches in hand, this season is definitely different than his previous seasons.
“Probably the biggest thing I’m going to miss is just running onto the field out of the Panther. That sounds weird but honestly it’s one of the coolest moments, just looking over and seeing the crowd going wild … there is no other feeling like it in the world. Even practice is fun too. I just miss the whole thing. Just the experience of it all,” Smith said.
For Smith, this recovery is all about the fact that, “it is what it is and [I’ll] get through it.” He shared a piece of wisdom with anyone who gets injured and wants them to remember that, “life goes on. You can’t let it weigh you down. It sounds corny but the saying ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ is 100% true.”
Smith speaks like someone who has definitely handled [the situation] pretty well. “This is just an obstacle in my life that I’m going to overcome and anyone else can do it too. Stuff is not always going to be good; bad things can happen. It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you respond to it.”
