Newtown's Marcus Tracy Injured But Still Focused

It had seemed as though Marcus Tracy had accomplished everything he possibly could on the soccer field.

He helped to win a state championship for Newtown High School. He broke every record. He helped Wake Forest win the College Cup. He won the Herman Trophy for the top player in college soccer.

So, it wasn't a surprise when the 23-year-old former Newtown resident signed his first professional contract in Europe. 

But now, sidelined with a knee injury, Tracy is facing some tough challenges. He cited the different style of play as well as the higher level of players as being a challenge for him, but one he was aware of going in. There also is the issue of living abroad in Denmark

"It has been a challenge to adjust to life outside of soccer," he said during a recent interview. "You have a lot of downtime away from the game so it's important to occupy your mind in someway."

Tracy has had issues with his knees, which have kept him off the field throughout his entire career. At Wake Forest, the wear and tear on his knees on occasion would sideline him. He was able to overcome those woes, but the injuries became one of the toughest aspects of life he has had to go through as an athlete. 

"No one wants to be away from their sport for any amount of time," he said. "But, you have to make sure that in that downtime you're doing everything possible to come back better and stronger than before."

At the moment, Tracy is dealing with tendinitis in both of his knees, which he said wasn't that serious of an issue, however, takes a lot of time to rehabilitate.  

"Tendinitis isn't a serious surgical problem," said Tom DiNicola, of Church Hill Physical Therapy and Sports Rehabilitation, who helps Tracy with his rehabilitation every time he returns to Newtown. "But for someone who relies on primarily speed and jumping, he loses that explosiveness."

Tracy was recently one of 30 players called up to the U.S. National team's training camp in Carson, CA but later sent home two weeks in because of his injury. 

Going forward, Tracy's goal is to just simply get back to 100-percent in time for spring or definitely for fall, he said.

"My advice to somone who is injured is to have a good perspective on your injury. It is important to get all the answers that you can out of your trainers," he said. "Read about your injury for yourself so you know exactly what's going on in your body." 

Tracy said it was essential athletes be professional about their rehab.

"As boring as it is, and as useless as some of the exercises may seem, its what's going to get you back competing again," he said.

DiNicola said that Tracy is laser-focused on his recovery.

"I almost have to kick him out of here because he wants to get better so badly," DiNicola said. "He is so enjoyable to work with because he's so comitted to his recovery and getting better."

Tracy has a year and a half left on a three-year contract for Aalborg in the Danish Superliga. Along with his six-figure club contract he has a three-year Nike contract for shoes and the club provides a free apartment and car.