Hi I’m Becs and on the 3rd of January 2019 I gained a greater appreciation for what sport can give. Having played football for around 20 years I have had my fair share of little injuries but fortunately nothing that has kept me out of the game for a prolonged period of time. That was until that day. Doing a movement I have completed countless times before at training, I felt a pain like nothing I have ever experienced which after tests revealed I had a complete rupture of my Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL).

Suddenly football, which was all I knew, stopped. Whilst working full time in a school, coaching football part-time and completing my University degree, factoring in recovering from surgery and completing rehab to get back to playing football is not something I had planned for. I was unaware how much of an impact a sports injury could have on all other aspects of day to day life.

Through the challenges, experiences and knowledge I gained during my recovery it inspired me to complete a Sport Psychology Masters. Having successfully returned to football, the day before I was presenting my Masters Thesis on social identity and returning to sport after an ACL injury, in a pre season game, I felt a pain that was all too familiar. Although I instantly knew, 2 weeks later it would be confirmed that I had completely ruptured my ACL for a second time.

As backwards as it may sound, I am grateful that I got to go through the experience again after all the knowledge I had gained the first time and through studying my Sport Psychology Masters. I was able to look at the injury and recovery from a completely difference place and since I have been back playing football successfully for 4 seasons.