After starting on the JV soccer team as a freshman and training hard all summer, sophomore Brendan Harney didn’t think he would be watching the season from the bench.

Harney has been playing soccer since he was four. During the last week of soccer camp this summer, he suddenly saw everything come to a halt when he fractured the growth plate in his pelvis and pulled the tendon from the bone. Sitting on the sidelines has been hard for Brendan, but with the help of his friends he says he can usually keep his mind off not playing.
“My friends have helped me by just sitting around with me and hanging out when they knew I couldn’t play, or run around,” Brendan said.
Brendan enjoys going to the games to support his team . He wants to be able to contribute as much as he can as soon as he is able to return. It’s not only been hard on him, but on his family as well. They support him and regularly take him to the doctor and his physical therapy appointments.
“[The hardest thing for him has been] sitting on the bench and watching the game and not being able to play,” father Mike Harney said. “The hardest thing on me is knowing how much Brendan wanted to represent his school by playing
soccer.”
His teammates and coaches miss him playing as well.
“He’s a good player,” JV soccer coach Mark Olwig said. “We miss him a lot. He was a great freshman, and he brings a lot to the field. We can’t wait to get him back.”
Doctors say that if Brendan does what he is supposed to and works hard, he should make a full recovery. He may even be back for the end of this year’s season. To make that happen, Brendan is trying to get back in shape by doing what he can and attending his therapy sessions.
As far as next year, Harney still plans to try out even if he can’t return to play JV this season.
“I will just have to practice more and get back into the shape I was in,” Harney said.