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tions were high for herself and team , but a knee injury derailed those expectations and instead of dissecting the opposing team on the pitch , Lindamer was in a doctor ’ s office starting her rehab .
It was a blow to young woman who was ready to show everyone that she was one of the best players in Western New York .
“ I was playing in the Power Puff football game at my school and I jumped up to intercept a ball and I twitted before my foot planted ,” explained Lindamer recently by phone . “ I tried to run on and it didn ’ t happen . It was so irritating and it happened half way through my soccer season . It was very upsetting .”
Not being able to play was the biggest disappointment for the junior . Not only were expectations high , but it was also a recruiting cycle . Coaches were bound to come to games to watch her play both at the high school level and her club team GPS .
The injury , however , would put serious doubt into her mind that she would be able to get that look from the college coaches . It also had her wondering if coaches would even continue to look at her for college .
At times college coaches might look away from a player who is coming off a serious injury . They might not want to take a chance on a player who might not be 100 percent physical , or who might not be back to the player before the injury .
“ Before my injury I talked to a host of colleges ,” stated Lindamer . “ I don ’ t want them to see me as someone who has been injured , when talking about proving herself . I want to be at the same level that I was before the injury - and that ’ s what I ’ m going for .”
That throughout process fueled Lindamer during he rehab . After all , she needed something to focus on to get her through the grueling rehab process . Not only is the process grueling on the body - but also the mind .
It ’ s easy to get down on yourself when things are going right during rehab . There are going to setbacks during the process - but in your mind those setbacks mean that ’ s there is something wrong .
So you try and push through it to get back to where you want to be . Linadmer made sure she took every little setback in stride and worked harder than ever to get back stronger than ever .
“ The first week was tough , but after a week it started to get a little better . I went to physical therapy twice a week for three or four months . It wasn ’ t the physical part that was the hard part . It was the mental part . Watching all my friends being able to play - and me not being able to do it was hard . I couldn ’ t run as soon as I wanted to and everything ,” explained Lindamer . “ Basically , I did everything I could physically just to be able to gain my confidence .”
The day she stepped back on the pitch for GPS earlier this summer was a gratifying feeling . It showed that all the hard work she put in was for naught . She stepped on the field and wanted to play her game right away .
She wanted to dive right back in with hard tackles and challenge for the ball . Physically she was ready to go - mentally there was that hesitation . She knew she was ready was to go - but there was always that doubt in the back of her mind that she was going to re-injure herself .
Those questions starting popping up like “ What if it happens again ?” or “ What if I take a wrong step .”
Until she took that first knock and got up from it those questions would always linger .
“ I was extremely nervous ,” stated Lindamer .
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“ My coach was like don ’ t go in and tackle , don ’ t do anything crazy . So , the first second I went in , I just went for it and ran into a girl . Everyone was just making jokes about how I was back . It felt fine , and my knee was fine . But , my mind was all over the place . Mentally , my mind was a mess , but physically everything was fine .”
Now with the injury behind her , Lindamer is looking to get her Lew- Port team back to the promise land . The rising senior is ready to show everyone that the injury in a thing of the past - and now it ’ s time to get back to work .
This offseason she has been preparing to do just that . The 90 degree temps that have hit Western New York this summer are nothing compared to the work Lindamer had to do just to get back on the field .
“ I ’ m just going to a bunch of camps , so I can just keep playing again ,” stated Lindamer . “ I ’ ve been going to sports training to get back my running so I can get more comfortable .”