For junior Mya Madu and senior Seth Lucky, their ACL tears taught them perseverance and how to trust in God. 

According to the Yale School of Medicine, ACL tears take nine months to a year to heal and can be physically and emotionally tiring. These tears are caused from sudden high force movements.

Madu has torn her ACL twice, the second time was last fall during basketball season.

“It’s definitely very hard watching all my teammates get to play while not being able to, especially because I’m such a sports based person,” Madu said. “But it also helps you grow emotionally because it teaches you how to be a leader while not being on the field or on the court.” 

Madu’s faith has also helped her journey of recovery.

 “But looking at it now, I truly believe that I tore my ACL right now in the middle of junior year for a reason because if I would have done it last year, I wouldn’t have gotten recruited to play college softball,” Madu said. “And if I would have done it next year, I might not still have a scholarship, and it would have been senior year. So I truly believe that through God, there’s a purpose for everything.”

Senior Seth Lucky tore his ACL Sept. 29, 2024 while playing soccer and lost a lot of muscle in his leg, but he believes his faith also helped him get through the tough time. 

“At the beginning of it I asked God ‘why’ ” Lucky said. “‘Why did it have to happen to me?’ But then as the months go by, your relationship with God gets closer, and you see the blessing of why this happened and why there are some good things that come out of it.”

Believing God had a plan for him helped Lucky get through his recovery. 

“Before I tore my ACL, how much I valued myself was based on my performance in sports,” Lucky said.  “Once that was taken away, I came to the realization that I wasn’t just an athlete but I had a lot of other things that I was good at and enjoyed doing.”