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It’s been quite awhile since I posted on the blog, in large
part because I just haven’t felt I’ve had a significant topic to write
about. However, now that 2013 has
come to an end, I feel like it’s the perfect time to reflect on 2013, and share
my experience and what I’ve taken away from it.
2013 was one of the most challenging and difficult years of
my life. I trained hard and made
incredible progress all spring. I
rediscovered my love for Olympic Weightlifting and made great strides in
strength and technique. I set the
school offensive line record in the snatch at 105 kg (231 lbs), cleaned 145 kg
(319 lbs), and squatted 190 kg (418 lbs), all lifetime PRs. I felt healthy and strong and was
excited to enter my summer training and build on what I had accomplished. I had also worked an internship as a
strength and conditioning coach at Seton Hall, which gave me valuable coaching
experience and in general, was a great opportunity to learn and grow.
It seems like anytime in life when everything is going your
way, it all falls apart out of nowhere.
Just two days after coming home from FDU for the summer, I became very
sick. I had a raging fever, chills
abdominal pain, and overall weakness among other symptoms. When things did not improve, I went to
the doctor who then sent me to the hospital. Through five days in the hospital, in which I was tested and
retested daily, all the while fighting a fever that spiked at 105 degrees, no
doctor could find anything wrong with me.
To make a long story short, it was determined that I had a very serious
Staph infection in my right knee, the same knee I had had three ACL
reconstructions in. The infection
required two knee surgeries in two days to remove and a 10-day hospital stay,
followed by a month of giving myself antibiotics through an IV that was
inserted into my arm and ran up into my chest.
While this was a tremendous setback, I was still determined
to play my final season of college football in the fall. So, before the IV line came out and only
a few weeks after surgery, I began to return to training. As soon as the IV line came out, I went
back to the gym and began to train in Olympic Weightlifting once again. My numbers were returning, and I was
feeling stronger. I actually PRed
my snatch at 111 kg (244 lbs), and was very excited about training again.
However, this is where I learned my first lesson. I later learned, while working with
weightlifting coaches at FDU, that in part because of the knee surgeries and
the weakness in my legs, I had sacrificed technique, and compensated by pulling
entirely with my back, a terrible habit that would have to be broken before my
lifting could improve once again.
Simultaneously, I finally was cleared to return to football
and after an awful summer of fighting to appeal my eligibility to the NCAA,
with very little to no assistance from FDU or the coaching staff, I finally
received word that I was eligible to play in my 6th and final season
of college football. Finally,
after a trying summer, I had reached my goal and playing football at FDU one
last time. My goals of being a
captain, making 1st team all conference, helping the team win at
least five games, and walking out for Senior Day with some of my best friends
including Mike Mancino, who I’ve been close with since his freshmen year, were
all still attainable.
Everything was back on track. I was motivated, excited, and thankful for the opportunity
to play again under the Friday night lights. Finally, opening night came. We were away at TCNJ, our most intense rivalry. The lights were on, the stands were
packed, and my adrenaline was pumping like crazy throughout warm ups. The first hit of the game relieved my
nerves and I was back where I belonged.
On the third play of the game, I was blocking on the
backside of a run play, when a defender dove and landed on the back of my left
knee in the process of making a tackle, and I felt a pop and went down. Turns out I had torn my MCL. For six weeks I rehabbed and lifted,
preparing myself to return to the field all while helping to coach the young
lineman forced to play due to injuries.
In week seven I returned to the field against Widener University. Playing against one of the best defensive
lines I’d ever faced I played well in the first half, scoring an 88% on
assignment, technique, and effort.
Nearing the end of the half, however, I was thrown to the ground and the
pile landed on my knee, re-tearing my MCL.
It seemed my career was over. I was devastated.
But I returned to rehab and lifting regardless, hopeful that I would at
least be able to suit up for my final game on Senior Day against
Misericordia.
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| 440 lb ATG Squat |
Senior Day came, and it was determined that I was capable of
playing. I braced my knee, said a
prayer, and strapped up my pads for the final time, determined to play the
entire game. I played very
well. Physically, aggressively,
and more confidently then I have in some time. Nearing the end of the third quarter, I threw a cut block on
a linebacker. I mistimed the cut
and had to throw my elbow out in front of my body to take his legs out. I landed on my elbow, and felt searing,
gut-wrenching pain throughout my arm and entire body. I had dislocated my shoulder, but after it was popped back
into place on the field, I returned to the game. We lost, and I was in tremendous pain, but I had persevered,
and had finished what I had set out to do.
I returned to lifting and working with athletes, doing
whatever I was able to do while my shoulder healed and I waited to find out
what the damage was. An MRI
revealed that I had anterior and posterior labrum tears, tearing of the
shoulder capsule, and small tears in my rotator cuff. The upshot was there was a significant amount of damage, and
if I wanted to take lifting seriously again, I would require surgery.
The last thing I wanted to go through was another operation,
but I knew it was necessary in the long run. While I waited to schedule surgery, I returned to training,
and set a somewhat lofty goal for myself:
to hit a PR squat before surgery.
So I set to training, squatting with a higher frequency then ever
before, sometimes 5 days per week.
While some will cry overtraining, I found that my body responded
incredibly well to the high frequency.
My leg strength grew at a high pace, my clean technique improved as a
result, and soon I was setting a number of squat PRs. I made 345 lbs for a PR double on the front squat, 400 lbs
for a PR triple on the back squat, and finally two days before shoulder
surgery, I far surpassed my goal by making a 200 kg (440 lb) back squat (videos on Facebook and instagram @jmsb_strengthtraining). This was a 22 lb lifetime personal record!
The point of this story is not to complain or gain sympathy,
but to show the reader what can be done when you set your mind to
something. I hope to inspire at
least one person to reach their goals by flat out refusing to be defeated. Whether it was the Staph infection and
knee surgeries, the torn MCLs that took away most of my final season, or the
dislocated shoulder that forced me to undergo a 7th surgery in just 6
years, I persevered, fought back, and stayed on track to achieving my goals. Regardless of the obstacle, if you want
something go and get it, and let nothing stand in your way. As I type this article with one hand,
my other arm in a sling post surgery, I am mentally preparing myself to attack
rehab and return to lifting again as soon as possible. Whatever it is in your life, go get it!
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