One of the special things about sports is when athletes do the unthinkable and overcome insane obstacles. Senior Anthony Reynoso at St. Joseph proved everyone wrong after overcoming a career ending injury. Now he is playing his final season with his teammates in a Knights uniform.
In October 2018 Reynoso went down in a match-up against Atascadero."It was my third varsity game up. I ran out in the flats to catch a pass and i dropped it and i was slowing down and a guy jumped on my back, i was on one leg and i collapsed and i felt it crack," Reynoso added.
The training staff came to find out that Reynoso’s knee bent backwards and he was immediately rushed to the hospital.
“That’s when they did x-rays and they found my growth plate was shattered and i had to have surgery the next day.”
Because of the nerve damage he had in his foot, the doctors told him he most likely won’t be able to play football again. “The doctor said unless it comes back which is unlikely, there is nothing you can do. it takes a long time for nerves to grow back, don’t know if you will have the stability in your ankle to come back and play.”
But three surgery's later… Anthony Reynoso was back for the 2019 season. What pushed him was everyone who doubted him.
“I think what motivated me is everyone saying they didn’t think i was going to be able to play again so i took that as my motivation."
St. Joseph head coach Pepe Villasenor is proud of the way Reynoso has come back following the injury. “When everything happened, i had told him we respect what the doctors say but at the end of the day its about god will, i believe it’s a true testament to not only him but his parents in terms of how he fought through this injury and is now able to play with his brothers and the game hes grown up loving.”
Now Reynoso is playing his final season in a nights uniform.
“I worked so hard to come back, it’s a miracle we were able to play again this year.”
"I think its been about perserverance, young men know obstacles will be thrown your way… athletics does a great job on preparing these young men in terms of obstacles they will face in life. they have seen the struggles and hard work he put in, it's healed their spirit and heart,” Villasenor said.
St. Joseph plays at San Luis Obispo at 7pm on Friday night.
