By Matt Browning
The fear Bishop Carroll football player Ridge Trail felt when he tore his ACL is one that he doesn’t want to feel again.
“It was scary at first, when your leg and muscles don’t work like they are supposed to,” Trail said. “The sudden loss of strength in my thigh and balance skill was hard.”
But Trail was dedicated to the rehab process. He was determined to be able to play his senior season.
“It was hard at the beginning but over time, I regained the confidence in my knee,” Trail said. “With an injury that takes a long time to heal, you must have mental toughness or it’s easy to be discouraged.”
Trail’s initial injury happened two weeks before the first game of 2024. It was difficult for the doctors to diagnose the injury because it didn’t present itself like a typical ACL injury.
He was as excited for summer workouts more than he ever had been.
“I am very happy and ready to be back on the field of my team,” Trail said. “I’m ready to help lead our team and defense. It was hard last year to cheer for them from the sideline. I didn’t like sitting out last year, but knowing I had my senior season to look forward to help me get through the tough times.”
While the whole injury process was challenging, it taught Trail to be patient.
“I learned a lot about patience,” Trail said. “My patience has increased since the injury. I am more able to have patience with myself at others. I am so appreciative to be able to play my senior season sitting out another season would not have been good for me or my mental health. I’ve always had a lot of passion for football growing up around the game and not being able to participate in the game definitely increased my passion for the game.”
