Syd Likely to Red Shirt with ACL Surgery

While we are still waiting for a second opinion on whether Sydney will undergo surgery, it appears that her freshmen season at U of L will be interrupted. She has been having some soreness in the repaired knee and experienced some pain while landing in practice a couple of weeks ago. She had a scan done and it seems that surgery is in her near future.

Coach Walz made mention of it on his radio show last week and the news took to Twitter and other social media. I was a little surprised that our local newspaper, the Wilmington News-Journal, picked up on it. They talked about Syd in an article which featured another Clinton County athlete who is looking to take the next step of playing football after college.

Mark Huber’s article was well-written and pointed to Syd’s faith as she moves toward potential surgery and rehab. Here is a portion of the article that appeared in the November 14, 2014, edition of the News-Journal.

I also ran across a nugget from the Louisville Courier Journal, via Google-alert, that reported Sydney Brackemyre will miss the upcoming college basketball season because of a knee injury.

The LCJ story reported Louisville head coach Jeff Walz said during his radio show that Brackemyre may not have had a major impact on the Lady Cardinals season in 2014-15 but the knee injury and subsequent surgery puts an end to her season before the first official game.

Brackemyre, a 6-1 forward, is a 2014 graduate of Clinton-Massie High School.

Both of these athletes have a strong faith in God and even though their news is on opposite ends of the spectrum, you can be certain both will take the news in stride — the good for Rollins who will not take anything for granted and keep working just as hard and the bad for Brackemyre who will likely work harder to return to form — and continue on the path they believe God has set for them.

Wilmington Article on Syd’s Verbal

Our local newspaper, the Wilmington News-Journal, does a good job reporting on local sports activities. They have been especially generous in their reporting on Sydney as both a player and as she has gone through the college process.

The following is the article that was published today in the Wilmington News-Journal. I like the fact that they talked about her faith along with everything else. You can read the article on the News-Journal website.

MARK HUBER

mhuber@civitasmedia.com

In the end, the University of Louisville had everything Sydney Brackemyre wanted in a college. So earlier this month, the Clinton-Massie junior gave a verbal commitment to the U of L women’s basketball program.

“In the end I chose Louisville because of its all-around fit,” Brackemyre said. “In the beginning of this process I had five keys I was looking for in a college …. opportunities to build my faith, academics, location, competitive athletics and relations with staff.”

Brackemyre, who plans to major in kinesiology, picked Louisville over Dayton and Michigan.

Brackemyre said all schools in contention were aware of her injury, a season-ending knee injury at the Pepsi Holiday Classic in December.

“My knee injury didn’t play any part in my decision,” she said. “None of the schools I was looking at lost interest because of my injury. I have been very honest with them about my injury and my rehab.”

Brackemyre recently put away the crutches and is hitting “rehab hard,” she said.

“As soon as my surgeon gives me the green light, I will get into Prasco with my trainer, Dante Harlan, and start working on my game,” she said. “I am hoping to get back in time to play AAU with the Cincinnati Angels for part of the season in July, but I am not rushing anything and won’t get on the court until my doctor, coaches and I think I’m ready.”

The Lady Cardinals were ranked No.12 in the nation in the latest poll and will be moving from the Big East Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“The Cardinals are very competitive athletically,” said Brackemyre. “I love that they are going to the ACC next year and I think that is a great conference. I love coach (Jeff) Walz’s style of play and the way he draws the mis-match and pushes the tempo. He has a great history of success, so I wanted to go to a program that has established itself as a team to beat.”

Brackemyre said Louisville’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes program was instrumental in her decision.

“I went on an overnight visit there in December and had the opportunity to attend one of their meetings,” she said. “Over 200 University of Louisville athletes participate, which is huge. My parents and I met with Chris Morgan, the director, and really believe I will fit in well there. I also think I will be able to plug-in to Southeast Christian Church, a mega-church in Louisville, and work with their college aged group. Southeast has a great ministry, as well.”