It’s been a long time coming for junior field hockey player Kaleigh Missimer. 

While in her third year at American, Missimer is finally amidst her first season getting to take the field for the Eagles after tearing her ACL and meniscus in the final game of her high school career. After many trials, setbacks, three surgeries, and much perseverance over two full seasons, Missimer is finally fully cleared and competing alongside her team for another Patriot League title. 

For Missimer, the long rehab process gave her time to gain a new perspective on her student-athlete identity, forcing her to branch out outside her comfort zone. “I was pretty quiet in high school… I had to break out of that shell, and I became much more vocal, and I enjoyed making connections with people a lot more… I don’t think that would’ve happened before [I got injured] because I would’ve just been comfortable where I was,” said Missimer. 

Like many athletes, Missimer’s sport was central to her identity in high school. While field hockey remains a significant focus in her life, being held out of the sport with an injury gave her the chance to explore other interests and forms of expression outside the realm of sports.

One such outlet came through art. Missimer took a couple of art classes in high school, and when she was first starting rehab her aunt gifted her a paint set, giving her a distraction away from field hockey while she was recovering. She found that art brought her joy, and she particularly found an affinity for painting album covers. She said “[Art] makes me really happy, and being able to give it to other people is something I found I like a lot. I think if I hadn’t been injured, I wouldn’t have had time to realize how happy it could make me.”

That attitude of giving back and being grateful is pervasive in Missimer’s outlook on her recovery. She continually emphasized the immense amount of support she’s received from her coaching staff, team, and head athletic trainer Sam Raso, never feeling at fault for her injuries or being rushed to come back before she was ready. “If they don’t give up on me, then I obviously can’t give up on them,” she reflected. She felt appreciative that she always found ways to still be involved and feel a part of the team, whether that was participating in sideline cheers, helping out in practice, or going through the rehab process with other teammates who were making their way back from injury. 

Still, the journey was long and forced Missimer to adapt and grow with each step forward and every unexpected setback. When she first started rehab, she reported it was difficult to focus on anything else except when she would be able to play again. Over time, Missimer learned to stop counting down to the day that she could play again, a date that could change with a setback or more cautious progression, and instead started to count up, celebrating each small milestone and the act of becoming stronger and allowing her to better put into perspective just how far she had come.

“Patience is a very good thing to have,” she mused. “For my first surgery I was always counting down to a date… and that was the worst, so what I started to do is I would count up. I would have little post-it [notes] on my wall and every time I did something little or big, like the first time I could run… I would put it on my wall and put the date and I found that it would help to count up rather than try to reach an end goal because if something goes wrong or something doesn’t go perfectly right you’re not let down.”

With her rehab in the rearview mirror, Missimer is focused on translating her experience into helping her team succeed, feeding on the same no judgment and supportive environment that allowed her to succeed in her recovery.

As the season progresses, Missimer remains focused on learning her new role on the team after changing positions to striker following her injury and each day taking a step, upward, to the ultimate goal of helping her team win another Patriot League title.