A year ago I knew it was possible Colorado meant the end of basketball for me. Sure, I talked tough and tried to think tough, but come on. Double hip surgery for a 17-year-old? Not an easy road. Well, a year and a day later, I’m back on the road to Colorado, but it’s not an end. It’s just another start, at the U.S. Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs, Colo. This road is the one less traveled. However hard it’s going to be, though, I know it will be good for me in the end. Everything I went through is finally paying off. One year ago I was just out of surgery, barely walking. Now I’m getting ready to play college basketball, after an 11th-hour offer from the head coach at Air Force. An offer out of the wild blue yonder, you might say. It’s hard to believe how far I’ve come and maybe that’s the beauty of it. After a whole year of doubt not knowing what I was going to do, not knowing what was going to happen, it finally is a relief that I understand my path now. I can’t explain how good it feels to finally have a set direction. That magical run our team made to the state finals is what made this possible. Even the way the Air Force offer happened was magical. At a recruiting visit I hesitated to make to a school in West Virginia, another recruit tipped me off to the idea that Air Force needed another guard. We contacted Air Force, and sure enough I found a coach who liked my game. Incredible. So now I build myself up to focus on the next task at hand. Air Force is the beginning of a new journey, hopefully a journey that will consist of many accomplishments. My life will be very different. I know it will be tough, but that should only help in the long run. The experience at Air Force will benefit me. I’m ready to move on. I’m ready to start a new chapter in my life. Too long have I been waiting to move on. Now is the time. July 15th is the date. From Colorado to Colorado. One journey ends and another begins.
Congratulations Danny! While it was an unwanted Journey, you benefitted from it, in that you are now better prepared for the unwanted and unexpected!
So rod of you.
So proud of you
Danny, I am so proud of you. Thank you for telling your story. The strength with which you have faced and conquered these challenges has amazed me, and your writing about all of it is honest, powerful, and beautiful. Well done. Please keep writing.
Danny, great blog and great capstone presentation yesterday! Well done!!!!
My name is Dawn Nelson. I live in Atlanta, Ga. & I have a son that had FAI surgery in the summer of 2014. I was so glad to find your page talking about your journey through this. My son is almost 16 and suffered with this condition for over 4 years before he was diagnosed. He is a baseball player and played with this condition the whole 4 yrs. His FAI & torn labrum has been fixed BUT he is still having alot of problems with stiffness & lack of flexibility. I wanted to know if that happened with you also. I am beginning to wonder if he has something else going on with his muscles. He’s past the 1 year mark and still struggling to play. Anything you could share would be appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Dawn. So sorry I never got back to you. I kept up with my blog a little bit, but I never went back and looked or saw comments. I just finished my basketball career here at Ohio State and came upon this when I was looking it over. If there’s anything you still need feel free to reach out. My number is 614-557-0120.
Thanks,
Danny