Finding the Light

In fact, her tumbles – both literal and figurative – have made her stronger, more determined, and more dedicated to summoning her best, even as she rehabbed one injury after another, even as she stared nose-to-nose with disappointment, especially as she smiled and said quietly to herself, “I’m OK. I’m really OK. I can handle this.”

 

Jordan is a Collegiate senior and three-sport athlete who as far back as Middle School brought a special talent to the hockey, lacrosse, and basketball programs. She’s quick, fast, and technically adept in her sports of choice. She’s a leader and well-respected teammate. She’s competitive and motivated. She’s always thrived on hard work, both in the athletic arena and in the weight room.

 

Then came the injuries. The first was a torn left calf muscle when she was in the 8^th grade. Toughed her way through that.

 

During her freshman basketball season, she tore the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in her left knee and spent six weeks in a brace. The next summer, she tore her left quad. She dreamed of playing college lacrosse, she was in the midst of recruiting season, so she toughed her way through those injuries as well.

 

Then came the stunner: a torn left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which she suffered playing for Capital Lacrosse Club during a tournament at the River City Sports Complex in late July of 2015, just before her junior year.

 

“I was on a fast break,” she recalled. “I did a V-dodge where I stepped with my left foot, planted, and stepped with my right. I took some steps afterwards and shot. Then, I turned around and collapsed. I felt so lightheaded. I thought, Something is not right.”

 

The injury prevented her from competing in a lacrosse recruiting showcase the next week. Subsequent reconstructive surgery and recovery knocked her out of hockey and basketball and limited her mobility and playing time during lacrosse season; nevertheless, she performed well enough to earn All-LIS and second team All-VISAA recognition.

 

Pain was her constant companion. The weeks of relative inactivity became quite challenging. PT sessions seemed endless. She spent hour upon hour working with Collegiate athletic trainer Jason Engle, and his quiet presence, professional expertise, and sound advice buoyed her spirit.

 

“Jordan’s ACL surgery should have been a six-to-nine month recovery,” Engle said. “It turned into 18 months. The ACL recovered great. The secondary things like patellar tendonitis were issues for her. She’d go for two, three, four weeks, then have a flare-up. She stayed positive the whole time. She’s so internally motivated. For me, it was giving her the OK to pull back rather than push through, especially when we were trying to break the pain cycle.”

 

Jordan returned to field hockey this past fall, and, as a sweeper, received All-League of Independent Schools and All-VISAA citations. The pain remained, though, and even a cortisone shot, hopefully a panacea, proved ineffective.

        

“Jordan gutted it out, she made it work, and she became one of our biggest contributors,” said Coach Karen Doxey. “She played in pain, but she knew exactly what she needed to do to get herself back and ready again. Her intensity, the competitiveness, and the skills were truly amazing.”

 

Just after Christmas, Jordan underwent arthroscopic surgery to clean up the area around her left patellar tendon. When the pain persisted, she underwent a platelet rich plasma injection -- the last resort -- that has markedly alleviated her discomfort.

 

Entering today’s LIS tournament semifinal against St. Anne’s-Belfield, the top-seeded Cougars are 14-5 and ranked first in the Richmond Times-Dispatch poll and third in the VISAA. As a midfielder, Jordan has scored 39 goals and contributed 16 assists. She’s the team’s leading draw specialist with 78.

 

“Jordan has definitely pushed through pain,” said Annie Richards, Collegiate’s girls’ varsity lacrosse coach. “When she’s on the field, she takes us to the next level. Watching her run, when she kicks it into her next gear, nobody’s touching her. She’s that athletic, that fast, that good with a stick in her hand.”

 

Jordan’s comeback has provided her a new, refreshing lease on life.

 

“I was nervous, for sure,” she said. “I didn’t want to let my team down. I was worried that I wouldn’t live up to the standards of when I last played because I hadn’t touched a lacrosse stick in an actual game for over a year. The first drills were so much fun. It was great to be out on the field running and laughing and remembering what it felt like: the competitiveness, the love of the game, being outside. It gave me a new light that I’d been missing for a long time. ”

 

So how did she manage when her future seemed so uncertain?

 

“I’d definitely identified myself as an athlete,” said Jordan, who has committed to play lacrosse for Princeton. “When I wasn’t able to play sports, some part of me felt like I was losing it. Many of my friends are through sports. Instead of being with them five days a week, I was in a PT clinic or on my own working out.

 

“I’ve definitely gotten more in tune with my body and mind. I’ve always been a positive person, but when I was saying everything was so good, everything was so great, sometimes I was really struggling inside. I thought I’d be in pain the rest of my life. Then I thought, No, this cannot be my new normal. It cannot. I knew it would get better.

 

“I tried to look for the little things, the little ‘happys’ as I call them. The fountain outside my PT clinic that I thought was so pretty and so cool. Every night leaving Robins Campus, there was such a nice sunset. I might not have played that day, but the sunset was beautiful. Or just being with friends and cheering them on. This also taught me how to deal with adversity. I didn’t have much previously in my life, but every day, someone’s dealing with something. My knee took up so much of my life. I was in pain 24/7. The experience has made me grow.”

 

Jordan’s comeback has inspired her teammates.

 

“Jordan’s such a versatile athlete,” said Gwin Sinnott, a senior who has shared the hockey and lacrosse journey with her. “The injuries have been a bummer. It’s been hard for her to watch, but she’s done a good job coaching us and giving feedback and being a vocal leader. It’s so awesome to have her back. Seeing her running and going full-speed in drills and scoring goals make us so happy. She brings this intense, hard-working presence to our team. She says something or leads by example, and our team will follow, and that’s really been great.”

         -- Weldon Bradshaw