'Was that my ACL?' Ellie Walbruch leans on faith, family, friends during Road to Recovery

The collegiate soccer star shared exclusive details about her devastating knee injury and the beginning of her Road to Recovery with saltcity.soccer, courtesy of a partnership with Defense Drinks.

Editor’s note: The following is a journal entry by Ellie Walbruch as part of the college soccer star’s “Road to Recovery” series, powered by Defense Drinks. It has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Support Ellie’s Road to Recovery by using promo code "ELLIE" at defensedrinks.com and save 10% on every order of the patented collagen-based energy and recovery drink.

March 30, 2024 — a day I thought would never happen.

This offseason had been my best yet. I felt like I was in the best shape of my life; quicker and stronger than even in the fall season.

I worked hard with my strength coach in the offseason, and we did tons of injury prevention exercises as well. I just felt great — very prepared.

I remember riding the bus down to St George, Utah, really excited to play our second spring game against Utah Tech on their home turf field. I had a great warmup, just like any other game. We were playing three 30-minute halves, and the first half was a battle going back and forth and the whistle blew.

We started the second half and about 13 minutes in, I received a pass and was dribbling forward with speed when out of the corner of my eye I saw a defender coming for me. I took a step to shield the ball and immediately felt contact from behind against my left knee. I heard the infamous “pop.” The moment it happened, I felt a shooting pain run through my knee and went down.

My dad and brother were both watching from the stands, and from my shrieks of pain they immediately knew something was wrong and rushed down to the field. The athletic trainers also ran out, calming me down, and helping me get on my back so they could assess my knee.

As I Iaid on the ground, thoughts started racing through my head:

“Was that my ACL?”

“Will I be out for fall season?”

“How will this affect my daily life?”

“Did I not do enough to prepare?”

“Will I be letting my teammates/coaches down?”

The fear of the unknown consumed me. It didn’t make sense. I was in the best shape of my life; there’s no way this could happen NOW. I felt a sense of disbelief and frustration of why this would happen to ME.

The sudden changes I would have to make to my daily life were going to be so hard. I am a very active, regimented person and my life is soccer, soccer, and soccer … so knowing I wouldn’t have that or be able to do that for the next nine months was heartbreaking.

The drive back to Provo was really long. I cried as I sat there with my Dad. He tried to console me, since we didn’t know exactly what was wrong yet, but deep down I knew it wasn’t good. I barely slept that night — out of discomfort, but also from worry.

The next day, I went with my parents to the hospital and got an MRI. The fear of knowing “what’s next” was going through my head while I was lying in the machine.

How would I get through this?

My anxiety was building as I waited about 2 hours to get my results. When the doctor called and said “Sorry Ellie, it’s a torn ACL,” the tears began to stream again. A ton of emotions hit me at once. There was initial shock and disbelief that it was actually true, followed by fear and the unknown about my future in the sport I loved.

Sadness and disappointment also crept in, knowing that I would be sidelined and miss the fall season with my teammates. Having worked so hard in the offseason to prepare, I wanted to be playing!

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But amid all these emotions, a calming feeling also came over me. I believe in God. I know he sees me. I know he loves me and I believe he has a plan for me. I did not ignore that feeling and I said to my Mom, “I’m going to put my trust in him.”

I went to work and got a plan going. That same sense of determination and resilience in my training took over. I immediately got with our BYU staff, had an initial consultation with the doctor, and I took the first step forward on my road to recovery.

The love and support I received from my teammates, friends, and family after receiving the news has been so uplifting. All of the kind words, gestures of support, and encouragement has given me the strength and motivation to face this challenging time with resilience.

It's in moments like these that I truly appreciate the bonds I share with everyone around me and realize the importance of their presence in my life.

This is my Road to Recovery.

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Thanks to a partnership with Defense Drinks, Ellie will be sharing insights into her Road to Recovery with Salt City FC. The college soccer star will contribute regular journal entries, dialogue and thoughts at saltcity.soccer about her journey, her trials and her victories as she tries to get back on the pitch.

Follow Ellie's journey at saltcity.soccer and across @saltcityfc on social media platforms, and support her Road to Recovery by using promo code "ELLIE" at defensedrinks.com to save 10% on every order.