Sasha Duval: Our M.V.P.
This past Sunday (September 25, during our game against IIofT) our team had the pleasure and honor of welcoming a new face into our program's family, Marion, IA 16 year-old, Sasha Duval. However, Sasha's role is not what you may think.
Sasha was born with arthrogryposis, a rare condition where the joints in her body contract and often get stuck in position. Because of her condition, Sasha uses a wheel chair for a large majority of her day and was told by doctors that she would never be able to walk.
After finding an expert in Philadelphia, Sasha faced many procedures to assist in her proving doctors wrong. She would walk again, and she wasn't going to let them stop her.
Following her surgeries, Sasha went through rehabilitation and physical therapy to train her body to move, step by step.
Although Sasha still uses her wheel chair most of the day and cannot walk completely independently, she has improved tremendously and faced feats doctors never believed she would.
Sasha loves soccer and hopes to one day be able to play a game that I sometimes take for granted.
Being able to welcome Sasha into our team, go through our pre-game, halftime, and post-game talk and rituals with her, and include her as our team's honorary captain for our match was deeply inspiring.
For someone who has played soccer my entire life, sometimes I find myself in a rut and routine of going to practice and then simply playing games. Yes, I love soccer more than anything, but no matter how much someone is passionate about something, it can still be unknowingly taken for granted. But not anymore.
After meeting Sasha and hearing her story, I, and the rest of my teammates, have a new perspective, outlook, and appreciation for a game we have spent our lives dedicated to. Yes, we may be tired, stressed, overwhelmed, and mentally and physically exhausted because of our lives as student-athletes, but why should we ever complain that we have the opportunity to do what we love every single day? Sasha would do anything to be in our shoes, and yet somehow we have undermined the importance, blessing, and gratitude of the life in which we live.
Thanks to Sasha and her imprint on our team, being an athlete has a whole new meaning to us. We play soccer because we love it, not because it is a chore, and we should continue to play with the passion and exuberance as if it was our first time ever touching a ball because for some people, they may never have that first time.
Not everyone is as fortunate and lucky as we are to have the opportunity to play the sport we love. Stressed about soccer? At least we can play. Got yelled at for making the wrong run? At least we can make the run. Struggling to score a goal? At least we’re on the field trying to score. Up until 3 a.m. doing homework after a game? At least we played in a game.
Whether we know it or not, playing this sport, for this school, and this program is something bigger than ourselves. Yes, we want to win and excel and compete, but at the end of the day, none of that matters if we cannot take a step back to recognize how fortunate we are to be in the situation we are in.
Thank you, Sasha, for all you are and for teaching our team a lesson that any athlete could learn from.
We love you!
Sasha was born with arthrogryposis, a rare condition where the joints in her body contract and often get stuck in position. Because of her condition, Sasha uses a wheel chair for a large majority of her day and was told by doctors that she would never be able to walk.
After finding an expert in Philadelphia, Sasha faced many procedures to assist in her proving doctors wrong. She would walk again, and she wasn't going to let them stop her.
Following her surgeries, Sasha went through rehabilitation and physical therapy to train her body to move, step by step.
Although Sasha still uses her wheel chair most of the day and cannot walk completely independently, she has improved tremendously and faced feats doctors never believed she would.
Sasha loves soccer and hopes to one day be able to play a game that I sometimes take for granted.
Being able to welcome Sasha into our team, go through our pre-game, halftime, and post-game talk and rituals with her, and include her as our team's honorary captain for our match was deeply inspiring.
For someone who has played soccer my entire life, sometimes I find myself in a rut and routine of going to practice and then simply playing games. Yes, I love soccer more than anything, but no matter how much someone is passionate about something, it can still be unknowingly taken for granted. But not anymore.
After meeting Sasha and hearing her story, I, and the rest of my teammates, have a new perspective, outlook, and appreciation for a game we have spent our lives dedicated to. Yes, we may be tired, stressed, overwhelmed, and mentally and physically exhausted because of our lives as student-athletes, but why should we ever complain that we have the opportunity to do what we love every single day? Sasha would do anything to be in our shoes, and yet somehow we have undermined the importance, blessing, and gratitude of the life in which we live.
Thanks to Sasha and her imprint on our team, being an athlete has a whole new meaning to us. We play soccer because we love it, not because it is a chore, and we should continue to play with the passion and exuberance as if it was our first time ever touching a ball because for some people, they may never have that first time.
Not everyone is as fortunate and lucky as we are to have the opportunity to play the sport we love. Stressed about soccer? At least we can play. Got yelled at for making the wrong run? At least we can make the run. Struggling to score a goal? At least we’re on the field trying to score. Up until 3 a.m. doing homework after a game? At least we played in a game.
Whether we know it or not, playing this sport, for this school, and this program is something bigger than ourselves. Yes, we want to win and excel and compete, but at the end of the day, none of that matters if we cannot take a step back to recognize how fortunate we are to be in the situation we are in.
Thank you, Sasha, for all you are and for teaching our team a lesson that any athlete could learn from.
We love you!