My hometown was host to an international soccer tournament around the 4th of July for many years. The town’s travel team is called the Granby Rovers. I played a few different positions with the Rovers, but during this particular game, I was the goalie.

As an opponent was dribbling down the field, I started to come out of goal to cut off her angle. When she pulled back to take her shot, I slid down on my side to grab the ball. I gained control by pulling the ball down to my chest, but she followed through on her shot anyway and kicked me square in the neck. Everything went black.

When I opened my eyes, I saw my coach leaning over me. He asked me if I knew where I was. I replied, “On the ground.” Off I rode to the hospital. My parents met me there and denied medical attention; they took me to the chiropractor instead. I’ve been receiving treatment from chiropractors for all of my musculoskeletal injuries ever since, inclug my first car accident and my first (and only) snowmobiling accident, but I’ll save those stories for another day.