Rise Above Athlete Stories

Jackson Galiani

"I tore my ACL twice. The first time was my sophomore year of high school. The second time was my sophomore year of college. For me, the biggest physical challenge was having to learn to do the basic things in life again, like walking, jogging, and running. These were things I took for granted and are very difficult when you’re first learning to do them again. The biggest mental challenge for me was feeling distant from all of my teammates. All I could do was help as a cheerleader due to being unable to play. It really makes you beat yourself up. What helped me come back stronger was, I think, just proving to myself that I had the willpower to get through it. With the first ACL tear, I wanted to prove that I could still go to a Division I school while suffering a torn ACL. Once I got to college and it happened again, I wanted to come back and show that I could be an even better player than I was before, even if I had every excuse to give up and hang the cleats up. I had put too much time and effort into this sport to give up. To me, this is what Rise Above is all about. Rise Above means no matter what challenges you face, you have a decision to crumble or to rise above and let those challenges make you stronger. There will be plenty of times you go through things as an athlete. It cannot always be sunshine and rainbows. When you do go through those tough times, it’s key to get back to work. Sometimes things are meant to humble you and make you work harder, and in my case with my two torn ACLs, I think it did just that."

Natalie Daniels

"My story is by no means extraordinary. Over 40,000 women tear their ACLs annually, more than twice the rate that men do. Then why does it feel so catastrophic? I tore my ACL during my junior year in college after coming back from a bad ankle sprain I had sustained a few weeks prior. I believe I blocked a lot of the physical pain out of my memory. I don’t remember feeling much when I tore it, before surgery, or in the moments when the morphine and the drugs wore off. What I do remember, even in month eight of recovery, is the mental side of an extensive recovery. Like a lot of athletes, my identity was consumed by my ability to perform on the lacrosse field. Afterwards, I was left to figure out how to replace that hole. That was the biggest challenge. As athletes, we are used to pushing through physical pain, but we aren’t always taught how to deal with injury and the mental side of the sport. We need to remember that we are more than the goals we put on the board, or the draw controls, and the caused turnovers we have on the field. We are teammates, students, and friends. Those things mean more to me now. I never gave myself the option of quitting, and I can thank my extreme competitive nature for that. Still, I could not have gotten through this journey without my teammates, friends, family, physical therapists, and coaches. You need people in your corner. I believe all of this happened for a reason. I feel more mentally tough than ever, and when I face adversity again, I will have the tools and experience to conquer it. That is what Rise Above is promoting. You will come back stronger, mentally and physically, and Rise Above serves as a community that will be in your corner to help you do that."

Stefano Evan

"The summer heading into my junior year of high school, I had an accident working out at home and needed two major surgeries to fix cuts and all of the nerves, tendons, and arteries in my hand. I was lucky enough to get a police escort right to the emergency room while I kept passing in and out because of the amount of blood I was losing. After these surgeries, I was left with hundreds of stitches and a conversation with my doctor letting me know that sports weren’t going to be an option in the future. This was the biggest challenge I had to face after spending my entire life working to play lacrosse in college and wouldn’t accept it to end that quickly. Thankfully, hybrid classes because of COVID allowed me to work with physical therapists five days a week both online and in person. My family and friends pushed me every day to do the extra work at home and gave me the support I needed when I felt like giving up. From learning how to do things as simple as holding a fork or being abIe to point my finger, I worked back to be cleared to play the day before the following season started in March, and looking back I wouldn’t change this experience. Rising above the hardest challenge I had to face has made me more thankful for good health and opened my eyes to what you can overcome with the right mindset."

Annabella Schafer

"I know my story is not unique, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard. In high school, I suffered a stress fracture in my back. At the time, I was already committed to play lacrosse in college, and suddenly I was facing something I had never prepared for. I had always found my identity and my purpose on the lacrosse field. I loved competing. Then everything changed. I had to navigate the rollercoaster of freshman year while trying to heal, only to find out my injury wasn’t improving. Instead of getting back on the field, I was told I needed to rest for 12 months. Twelve months without the game that helped shape the person I am today. That’s when the hardest question hit me: Who am I without lacrosse? If I’m not the player, the competitor, the teammate on the field… then who am I? I had to learn who I was from the sidelines. I had to figure out how to be the best teammate I could be, even when I wasn’t the one playing. Supporting my team, staying positive, and showing up every day, even when it was hard, became part of my journey too. From this I have learned one of the most important lessons in my life: everything happens for a reason. It may be hard to see at the moment but it takes time. Rise Above exists for moments like this. It’s a community that reminds you that you’re never alone in the struggle. Your family, teammates, coaches, friends, and sometimes even complete strangers are there to help lift you up. Every athlete carries a story of adversity, and when we share those stories, we help each other come back stronger mentally, physically, and emotionally. Setbacks happen. Injuries happen. Doubt happens. But in those moments, you have a choice: Do you rise above, or do you let the negativity consume you?"

Jude Abbadessa

"Every athlete faces a moment and even many that tests them, and for me, the main moment was undergoing Tommy John Surgery. As a competitor who has dreamed since birth of playing at the highest level, being sidelined challenged me mentally just as much as physically. I had to fight doubt, frustration, and the fear of the unknown while rebuilding my arm from the ground up. There were days it felt overwhelming, but my dedication, my love for the game, the relationships I have with my family, teammates, coaches, and many other things kept me grounded and motivated. Most importantly, my faith in God gave me strength and perspective, reminding me that this setback had a purpose greater than the pain. To me, Rise Above means choosing growth over excuses, trusting the process when it’s hardest, and coming back stronger. Not just as an athlete, but as a person and son of God."

Michael Mancini

"Every athlete talks about loving the game when things are going well, when you’re healthy, competing, and everything feels right. But the game really tests you when it is taken away from you. For me, that was when I fractured my hamate bone and tore my meniscus right before the season. Instead of preparing for game days, I was now facing months of rehab and recovery. Watching the season start while I was on the sideline was one of the hardest parts. As athletes, you pour so much of yourself into the game, and when you can’t play it challenges your inner battles mentally. Physically, the process was slow and frustrating. Every day in the training room, having patience and not seeing your strength come back quickly is tough. Having patience when you’re used to pushing your body to compete is hard, but mentally it challenged me even more. There were moments of self-doubt where I wondered how long it would take me to feel like myself again. What pushed me through was remembering why I loved the game in the first place. The daily grind, the monotony of doing the same small details over and over to just get 1% better. I realized that adversity is part of every athlete’s journey, and the ones who grow from it are the ones who just keep showing up. So every rep in the training room, every step forward became part of the comeback. To me Rise Above means choosing growth when things get hard. It means refusing to let setbacks define you. Injuries, losses and doubt are part of sports but they don’t have to define you. Rise above means choosing faith over fear and trusting the process and believing that your toughest moments can be used for something greater. Every day I read the verse John 13:7 “You may not understand now, but afterward you will.” This verse reminds me when I cannot see the purpose in struggle. God still had a plan through it."