It was supposed to be a great season for BYU's women's basketball in 2006. After being picked as the MWC newcomer of the year, freshman Mary Martha Abell was ready to start the season with a bang.

There was a bang, but not one she was expecting.

"I heard the pop and I knew it was bad," Abell said. "My first thoughts were complete shock. I had been working so hard, thinking of success, and then in one moment, it's all gone."

Abell wasn't ready to give up. She stood up by herself, hoping to make it through the game, but as soon as her leg gave out again, BYU athletic trainers escorted her to the medical room.

Doctor Kirt Kimball's diagnosis - a torn ACL.

"I had surgery, did rehab, was given a sports psychologist and never once thought about quitting," Abell said. "I had no doubt I would come back."

She said there wasn't pressure from coaches or teammates to come back, but mostly from herself. She felt she had let others down and had to prove herself by coming back quickly.

She said her torn ACL affected her mentally, emotionally and physically, creating an internal battle that changed her.

Her shift in roles was one she never imagined. She had been on her way to leading the women's basketball team by starting in each game. Instead she was on the bench, watching her team play without her.

But she pushed through. Abell went through gruesome physical training and rehab two to three times a day for months. Her sports psychologist helped her imagine the court, playing with her teammates and training her mind to continue thinking basketball day and night.

Her inward struggle was one others would not see on the outside and never dreamed would be happening to her, Abell later reflected. She had a hard time trusting her knee; she never knew when it would give out again or if it was strong enough. It was also hard dealing with the day-to-day situations of being an injured athlete.

"I was a basketball player, but not really," Abell said. "I went to all of the practices and games just to watch. That was really hard."

Abell isn't the only athlete that has been through the healing process of a sports injury, which affects athletes physically, mentally and emotionally.

Senior wide receiver Michael Reed recently tore his right meniscus in a game against UCLA. Even though Reed had an amazing start to the Cougars' 3-0 season, making 16 catches for 216 yards and two touchdowns, he's had to slow down to heal his knee.

Reed went through arthroscopic surgery the week following the UCLA game to give him the best opportunity to heal and return at full strength.

"My first thoughts when it happened was that I was going to finish the season," Reed said. "I tried practicing and it didn't feel right. I decided to have surgery and that was a really hard decision to make."

Having surgery is a tough decision for most athletes, because the healing process does not always go as quickly as the player would like.

Junior linebacker Vic So'oto, for example, broke his fifth metatarsal in the second play of the Washington game. Doctors initially told So'oto he would be out four to six weeks. After surgery, however, his return date was pushed back and he was told he'd be out for the entire season.

"Initially, I didn't think my injury was that bad," So'oto said. "But obviously I was wrong."

Most athletes try to minimize their injuries so they can continue playing.

Junior wide receiver Austin Collie tried playing through a stress fracture, but gradually it became so bad he had to take some time off before the 2008 season started.

"It was a very important time for the team," Collie said of fall camp. "My first thoughts were that I better not miss the first game of the season."

Collie said being injured affected him the most mentally.

"After some time, being on the sidelines watching your friends and teammates play, it gets to you," Collie said. "You feel like you're not part of the team anymore. I felt like I was on an island by myself and that no one understood what I was going through."

Collie said he had the fear that the team would forget about him, that they would all progress and grow as a team, and he would remain stagnant as a player.

That feeling of being alone is prevalent among many injured athletes. Reed knows that feeling since he had to miss two games while recovering from surgery.

"That is the hardest part, missing games," Reed said. "I was sitting at home watching the Wyoming game by myself."

But each athlete said they learned life lessons while injured.

"I learned about myself," Collie said. "I learned about my weaknesses, strengths and where I need to improve personally and as a football player."

Reed was determined throughout the whole process and learned how to be a strong person.

Abell eventually came back to women's basketball after months of gruesome training before tearing her other ACL. She went through the whole process again before deciding to walk away to save her health.

Abell took off as an individual in school and her personal life. She met and married Andrew Checketts and graduated from the Marriott School. After her injury experience, she said she wouldn't do it any other way.

"I had a peace come over me that I tried my hardest," Abell said. "I worked through the pain and it was a struggle, but it was worth it."

Copyright Brigham Young University 3 Oct 2008