Florida senior forward/midfielder Ashlee Elliott didn’t cry when she heard her knee pop out – or when it popped back in. She didn’t cry from the pain, although it was excruciating.
She certainly didn’t cry in the hospital with her boyfriend, Florida cornerback Joe Haden, as she tried to listen for the punch lines of his jokes over the screams of the MRI machine.
She didn’t cry when she got results of that MRI: a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee, which likely means season-ending surgery.
No, the tears came in the moments in between, the moments on the mat in the medical room when she started to wonder: Would she be able to play professional soccer now? Why did this happen in her senior year? Why?
Since Elliott received the diagnosis, she hasn’t cried. Those 24 hours of reassuring friends and parents have helped her through her first serious injury.
And no, Elliott won’t be angry either. How could she be? Everything happens for a reason, she tells herself.
Firm in her faith in Jesus Christ, Ashlee Elliott knows there is a reason.
“It’s a testimony that I have now,” Elliott said. “I can tell girls that even if you have these mess-ups, you can come back just as strong.”
Will Elliott come back just as strong? She doesn’t doubt she can’t and she won’t allow herself the thought. She is already working toward getting better than she has been, which has been pretty darn good.
“I want to come back stronger because I felt like I was at my peak. I can only go up from here,” declared the motivated Ashlee Elliott.
So she will be better. But what will she be now? On the team, Elliott plans to be a leader, the same leader that she always has been. Although head coach Becky Burleigh is upset with the loss of her star player, she knows that her spirit and energy will remain with the team.
“I think it’s frustrating because she’s a really big part of what we do – not just on the field as a player, but inspirationally,” Burleigh said. “A lot of girls look up to her. I think she can still be a leader, just not from a playing perspective.”
Yes, her teammates – the first territory for her testimony. She will be there for them, just as they have been for her when they’ve kept her laughing, asking her, “Are you sure you can’t play on that torn ACL?”
No, there were never moments when she doubted if she would still be a captain of this team. Half of her job already was off the field, helping underclassmen make smart choices – and that won’t change.
The only thing that has changed is her motivation. The “All-“ teams don’t matter anymore. Not since coach Burleigh came to her hours after the injury and laid out her options: She could take a medical redshirt, postpone her December graduation and go to grad school. Or she could train and get ready for the Women’s Professional Soccer Combine.
“I want to play at the next level,” Elliott said. “That’s my motivation as of now. I’ve talked to my mom, and I’m trying to be ready for the pros in 2010. I do want to continue to play soccer.”
And her coach is behind her all the way.
“From an academic perspective, it’s probably not a good idea to come back,” Burleigh said. “She would have to postpone graduation for another year. It’ll be a challenge to go pro, but she should have plenty of time for rehab.”
The WPS draft takes place in January, but Elliott doesn’t know if she’ll be drafted by that time.
But she does know that she will be ready for the Combine, which will be later in the spring. She will do what she has always done – take her challenge head on and with a smile on her face.
No, she won’t be crying anymore. There isn’t time for tears.
Ashlee Elliott is on a mission.
So, who replaces Elliott? Burleigh said that sophomore Lindsay Thompson will be the primary starter at forward, but that many players will rotate in and out.
The toughest thing to replace about Elliott, Burleigh said, is her athleticism.
“I think the biggest thing we lose is her physical presence,” she said. “She heads better than anyone in college. We’ll have other people step up.”
But Burleigh admits, there will be an adjustment period. Elliott was responsible for the game-winning goal against Miami, and she is a player that opposing teams are forced to defend.
“Other teams fear Ashlee,” Burleigh said, “so they’re probably breathing a little easier right now.
Road trippin’: The Gators hit the road for their first big away weekend of the season. They first face Indiana on Friday afternoon in Bloomington, Ind., then take a charter bus that night to Champaign, Ill., to face an early test against No. 9 UCLA.
Burleigh said that she will just focus on having her players organized and prepared.
“It’s hard to deal with it until we’ve done it,” she said. “It’s their first big road trip, and they’ll just have to take care of their bodies.”
And how does the preparation differ for a stacked team like UCLA?
“It doesn’t differ,” Burleigh said. “Our preparation is a lot about us. We talk about the other team’s system and style, but we focus more on what we do.”