ELMHURST, IL – York High School student Maya Wamsley recalled on Tuesday her painful experience after tearing her ACL during a lacrosse game.
It was her third game on the varsity lacrosse team in April.
"I took a hit on the field, and I went down," Wamsley, now a sophomore, told the school board.
She was told that she would undergo a nine-month recovery. That meant missing summer club season and flag football in the fall.
"Moving at York on crutches was challenging, and I missed additional classes when I had to sit and ice the pain away in the nurse's office," Wamsley said.
Wamsley found she was far from alone. Her neighbor, another York freshman athlete, tore her ACL during a soccer game the same week. And when Wamsley did exercises with a trainer shortly afterward, she was next to a student who suffered the same injury.
By the end of the girls lacrosse season, another York player tore her ACL, Wamsley said.
She cited statistics showing a big increase in ACL tears among female athletes nationally.
During her recovery, Wamsley said she discovered FIFA 11+, a warm-up program developed 25 years ago to prevent such injuries.
Athletes who do the program for 20 minutes three times a week reduce their risk of ACL injuries by two-thirds, she said.
Wamsley asked school officials to recommend or even require all teams at the middle and high school levels to follow the program.
"I'm committed to making sure everyone knows about it," she said.
Under its policy, the school board does not respond to public comments during its meetings.
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