The Fight Forward

It is no surprise that we will face adversity throughout our lifetime. When that time comes, we are given two options - to give up or to fight forward. For Aggie Soccer sophomore midfielder Jenna Byers, she is choosing the latter.
 
Since joining the Texas A&M squad two years ago as an early enrollee, Byers has endured three surgeries, all from different injuries. The first injury came within her first week in the Maroon & White.
 
The impact was felt immediately.
 
 
"I was a brand new freshman," the Tulsa, Okla., native recalled. "I was so excited to start practicing to get ready for the fall season. Before this, I had never gotten injured or had surgery before. But whenever I went down, I knew right away that I had torn my ACL."
 
It was at Holland Hall preparatory school where Byers developed to be a highly touted prospect for the 2016-17 recruiting class. She caught the eyes of the Aggie staff with an impressive resume. The three-year letterwinner led the team in scoring each season and was a three-time All-Southwest Preparatory Conference winner. In addition, she played a critical role in her club team, the TSC Hurricane 98 ECNL club, by guiding them to the 2012-13 ECNL Texas Championship. She added versatility and depth to the 2016-17 Aggie Soccer signing class. 
 
"We recruited Jenna because she was by far the best all-around player in her state and a winner," Aggie head coach G Guerrieri said. "One of the attributes we noticed in her was her toughness. She could physically dominate the highest-level youth games. However, throughout the past two years with the unfortunate physical setbacks she's experienced in her college career, I can say that I truly didn't really know she was this extraordinarily tough; physically and mentally."
 
After receiving an MRI, the doctors confirmed that she had, indeed, suffered a torn ACL in her right knee. A few days later, she received news of a torn right hip labrum, and surgery was soon underway. The two injuries sidelined her for the rest of the year, prompting her to redshirt her freshman season.
 
 
"That was really hard because when you redshirt, you don't get to travel," Byers said. "It was difficult not being with the team, and I had to sit out of practice a lot because I couldn't do anything. You almost felt disconnected from the team."
 
The road to recovery began quickly as Byers spent hours throughout the next couple of months working with Texas A&M's rehabilitation specialist Matt Kee and sports performance coach Tom Milroy to rehab both her right knee and hip.
 
However, that would not be her last time to walk down the road of recovery.
 
When the Aggies hosted the Houston Dash in their last game of the 2017 spring season, it was déjà vu for her on the pitch. She suffered another ACL injury. Only this time, it was in her left knee.
 
It was one thing after another.
 
Byers dishearteningly explained, "I remember asking Andi Tate, our athletic trainer, if I was ever going to play soccer again because that was it, and there was no way. She made me look her in the eye and she said, 'If you want to play soccer then you are going to play soccer again. You will do rehab. You will fix your knee. And then you will play.'"
 
Those words of encouragement from Tate resonated deeply as it instilled hope in her to begin that road to recovery, again.
 
She approached the summer of 2017 with a tremendous amount of focus, as hours were spent every day rehabbing and training with Kee and Milroy in the weight room. Over the span of the next four and a half months, she had gained 18 pounds of muscle back in her leg, ultimately being cleared to practice again.
 
"I stayed here all summer and did rehab with Matt. Every single day, I would go in with Tom and ride the bike. I had blinders on because I was so focused. I got released in four and a half months, and looking back, I had worked so hard. I'm really proud of myself because it typically takes six to nine months to do that. It made staying here all summer worth it," Byers joyfully recalled.
 
Milroy has worked closely with Byers through the injuries and can attest to the hard work and effort she's put forward.
 
"She has put in so many hours of training on and off the field to be where she is now," Milroy proclaimed. "A lot of it has been in extra sessions away from the team, on her own in the gym or in the athletic training room, and that takes a mentally strong person to be able to handle that. For me, she has set a standard for how to return from an injury with her attitude, work ethic and ability to handle adversity."
 
It is through these trying times that have made those moments on the field become a meaningful experience for Byers. When the Aggies traveled to Missouri to take on the Tigers, the sophomore midfielder saw her hard work pay off when she entered the match in a regular season game for the first time.
 
"That was my first time going into a game for Texas A&M in a regular season, and I just started crying," states Byers. "I hadn't played in two years up until then, and I could hear everyone cheering for me. It happened again at the SEC Tournament against Missouri. I remember crying so hard afterwards because after going through all that, I was at a place where I could finally play."
 
Coach Guerrieri has had a front row seat to witnessing the unwavering support and love Byers has received from her teammates.
 
"Her teammates absolutely love Jenna. And they admire her for her heart and drive," Guerrieri said. "They've been the first ones to celebrate her successes in training during her two-year recovery, and they will be the first ones to embrace her when she scores and does great things on Ellis Field this fall."
 
 
With the 2018 campaign fast approaching, she awaits her time on Ellis Field. Through three surgeries in the span of two years, she has leaned immensely on her faith, family, friends and teammates to help her stay motivated.
 
"Seeing how hard everyone on the team works, it makes me want to work hard, too," Byers said. "I want to be a part of that, and I want to help the team out so badly. It's been hard helping them on the sidelines for the past two years, and I know that's important, too. But now, I really want to help them out on the field."
 
When Byers takes her first step onto Ellis Field this fall, it will be a step that signifies her resilience, commitment to her team and courage to fight forward.