For senior Zander Kennedy, soccer has been a part of his life ever since he can remember. Kennedy has played club soccer and trained every day for hours with the goal of playing at the NCAA Division 1 level.

However, the road to Kennedy’s success has not been smooth, dealing with several major injuries throughout his career which continuously kept him off the field. These injuries forced Kennedy to not only change his goals of playing D1 soccer but also change the role soccer played in his life.

During the 18-month recovery process from a major brain injury, soccer was forced to become an afterthought. Kennedy had to find a new passion, something that he could work at and that could bring him joy during recovery.

“During that time, I found bracelet making,” Kennedy said. “It was for my rehab, to help my cognitive development by stringing beads on and making bracelets, and I enjoyed that. I happened to make hundreds of bracelets and then I started selling them.”

Before finding bracelet making, he had tried everything he could whether it was drawing, painting or writing, but making bracelets was the one activity that stuck.

Along with making bracelets, Kennedy coped with his recovery by relying on his family for support.

“[My] family has always been closest to me, and they’ve helped me the most,” Kennedy said. “You have friends obviously, and true friends will help you, but family stays with you the most and is the most reliable.”

For Kennedy, finding enjoyment outside of soccer was not an easy feat, but through both this most recent injury and past injuries, which included small sprains. According to him, recovering mentally has proved to be far more challenging than recovering physically.

Kennedy says he has dealt with many mental struggles throughout his career, like recently tearing his ACL, putting him on the sideline for his final season of both club and high school soccer.

“Even though you might be going through the worst pain in your leg, the mental strength you have to have to overcome these injuries is what makes you a stronger person,” Kennedy said.

Although Kennedy has dealt with many negative impacts from his injuries, he has still been able to enjoy his senior year through a role as captain for the boys varsity soccer team. Kennedy has taken on more of a coaching role, helping the team during practices and games.

You must love the process to be successful, no matter how challenging it may be and what obstacles you must overcome along the way, he says.