The goal is so close, but so far…sophomore Olivia Bailey sees the ball and goes through with the kick. Suddenly, the tear of her ACL impacts her shot. 

Olivia Bailey was in the middle of her club season, having been playing soccer as the outside forward and center field position when the unexpected recovery of her ACL took hold of her athletics until the summer of 2023.

“I pretty much stopped going [to practice] and went [to] occasional games, it definitely affected my relationship with the team,” Bailey said.

During Bailey’s current recovery, she has had to learn how to pace herself. The realization that she can’t go out on the field or the court and play the sports she loves was hard for her. 

“It has impacted me physically and mentally; it has given me a better mindset for being a better teammate and being on the bench more,” Bailey said.

While Bailey was on crutches for the duration of her recovery, sophomore Naomi Bertucci assisted Bailey with her backpack during the school day. Bailey and Bertucci have grown up together playing basketball.

“I got to leave class a little bit early…knowing when to get her because sometimes I don’t know when she wants to leave class,” Bertucci said.

Even though Bertucci was a great help to Bailey during her recovery, it was a struggle to see her in the condition she was in.

“I felt bad for her, it sucked seeing her not being able to do it by herself,” Bertucci said. 

The head girls’ soccer coach Danielle Anderson has known of Bailey before she even came to play for her team. 

“I know Olivia from being her head soccer coach and the strength coach at the high school. What people may not know is that she actually attended Arbor View where I teach and I recognized her when she became a freshman,” Anderson said.

With Bailey’s unexpected injury, the girls’ soccer team lost a great defensive player and a great teammate for the upcoming season.

“Olivia is a fantastic player with great foot skills and incredible speed. Tearing her ACL will greatly affect our team’s attack because she is so fast and dangerous in the attacking third,” Anderson said. “Many teams last year would change their defense or personnel to defend Olivia which would open up many things for our attack.”

Bailey, being a great asset to the team’s success, will unfortunately not be a part of this year’s girls’ soccer team. The team members will miss her contribution until her return in 2024.

“Olivia contributed to our team’s success by scoring goals for our team and creating scoring opportunities for other players on our team,” Anderson said. “[She made] teams change their strategies during our game. She was a major threat for us and will definitely be missed this year.”

The girls’ head basketball coach, Jennifer Wragge, also coaches Bailey in the winter season. She will not be able to play basketball this season. However, she is still considered part of the team and goes to support her fellow teammates on the court.

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