I’m 56, former college basketball player who has kept playing all these years. Basketball is such a huge part of my life. In the summer of 2024, I was beginning to consider quitting… not because I didn’t want to keep playing but because I was playing terribly. But I realized that the biggest part of my poor play was mental; I was telling myself I was too old to do things I’d always done and limiting myself…. When I stopped doing that and let myself play how I always had, I played SO much better and completely fell in love with the game all over again. But April 9th, a week after having an “MJ” kind of night where I couldn’t miss, I found myself lying on the floor at the start of a game… first confused, then devastated as I realized I had ruptured my right Achilles.

I thought the surgeon was going to tell me I wouldn’t be able to play again, but he said I’d be out 9 months. With that, everything became about rehab. At my last appointment, he said he’ll clear me to return January 1… a month earlier than his original projection.

So I looked around to find a gym I could get into once a week alone and start doing shooting, sprints and other movement drills to get my body ready for my return. This is one shot from my second workout. My shot looks a little stiff but it’s not the Achilles… I just have a lot of conditioning to rebuild and get comfortable with moving in that way again. Just from the first to the second workout things improved significantly so I’ll get there. It felt so good to just be on a court again that I’m posting this as a mini celebration.

Never take the opportunity to play for granted and above all, have fun!