Caity Heap, a sophomore at Texas Tech, said she was the starting midfielder of her high school soccer team, McKinney Boyd, her senior year. Heap said she would never forget the day everything turned around for her.
“It was cold,” Heap said, “I remember that for sure.”
Caity said she had the ball and a girl came in for a slide tackle from the side.
“I remember hearing a loud popping noise as I went down,” she said, “then my knee had this sharp pain and it was sort of numb.”
Heap said she was carried off the field and became frantic as the trainer examined her.
Caity Heap and her teammate celebrating.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” she said, “that’s what worried me most.”
Heap said that after the doctor’s visit, it was declared that she had torn her anterior cruciate ligament on Jan. 30. She said she was scheduled to formally sign to play Tech soccer on Feb. 1. Heap, an exercise sports science major from McKinney, Texas, said she has played soccer since she was 4 years old and this was her first major injury. Heap said immediately after the game was over she called the Tech soccer coach, Tom Stone, to convey what happened
“It was a pretty short conversation,” she said, “but he reassured me that nothing had changed and he still wanted me to come.”
Heap said her emotions weighed on her the first few nights after she tore her anterior cruciate ligament as she adjusted to the realization of the injury and her future athletic career.
“After that,” she said, “I was just like, ‘I’m not going to cry over this, I just need to get better.’”
Caity Heap playing against Texas State.
Heap said she was out for roughly six months during which she did leg strengthening and weight training.
“My road to recovery sucked,” she said with a laugh. “The team would be on the field practicing and I would just be in the corner running, so it made it tough getting back into shape.”
Lauren Watson, a sophomore marketing major from The Woodlands, Texas, said she is Heap’s teammate and roommate. Watson said she was able to sympathize for Heap as she had also torn her anterior cruciate ligament the summer before her senior year.
“It’s a tough position to be in,” she said, “because you’re out for so long, but I think it makes you a better person and a better player.”
Watson said she and her teammates were very positive and encouraging towards Heap throughout her recovery process.
“I think she was pretty strong throughout the process,” Watson said. “Tearing your ACL is terrible, so there are going to be ups and downs, and I think she did a god job staying strong and pushing through it.”
Chris Morton, a sophomore mathematics major from Houston, said he is not only one of Heap’s closest friends, but also her biggest fan. Morton said the one word he would use to describe Heap is “dedicated.”
“I think the injury ultimately helped her a lot,” Morton said. “Since she has been back, I think she has done above and beyond what people expected. Coming off of such a horrible injury that ends many people’s careers, I think she has come back better than she was before.”
According to the official website of Texas Tech Athletics, after Heap made a full recovery she participated in 13 games and logged 259 minutes of field time her freshman year. Heap said that since she was 5 years old, playing professional soccer has been her dream.
“I think it would be really cool to go overseas,” she said, “but wherever I can play, I would do it. Soccer is, and always will be, my life.”
About Kaylie Meadows
