PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — One year ago, Lincoln High School shooting guard Julia Calvin was told the doctors could not guarantee a full recovery after she tore her ACL.
“When I tore it, I was like, ‘I can’t get hurt right now because it’s been so long without playing and just training by myself,'” Calvin said. “It was just the worst time that I could’ve gotten hurt, right when I was able to play again.”
Calvin missed out on her sophomore year of club basketball due to COVID-19. Being forced to then miss her junior year of high school ball with the ACL tear taught her a difficult, but valuable lesson.
“Throughout the time of COVID and being by myself, I taught myself to take everything as a lesson that you can learn from,” she said. “So when I found out that I tore it, I was like, ‘OK, I’m just going to try and get better from it and not waste the time that I have.’”
And get better she did.
Calvin is looking to learn from her injury — and possibly turn it into a career — while hoping to take her basketball talents to the next level.
“I want to do some type of exercise science after college or be a trainer or something, so that’s part of it,” she said. “I think playing in college would be good for that, but it’s just the thing that I’m most passionate about and gives me the most purpose. So, I just want to do it for as long as I can.”