Emily’s story: A Mom’s perspective
Emily Doty. My daughter. A 3-season sport athlete participating with youth teams, and becoming a Varsity athlete as a freshman in High School Soccer, and Softball.
Not only did Emily enjoy playing sports, but she was blessed with a natural talent that allowed her to excel with whatever she participated in. During her underclassman years at Lyndon Institute, she made The Caledonian Record’s “Dream Team” for soccer & softball multiple times, and was nominated as “Athlete of the Week” for softball, during her Junior year. Also during her Junior year, she played Girls Varsity Hockey for North Country High School, and was instrumental in helping the team make it to the Finals, for the first time in North Country’s Girls Hockey history.
To increase her exposure to potential colleges, Emily decided to play ASA Summer Softball before starting her Senior Year. Unfortunately, her world came crashing down when she tore her ACL in her right knee during a 4th of July tournament in Conway, NH.
As surgery occurred August 19th, 2013, Emily would not be able to play soccer. She had never missed a sport for many years, so missing out of her Senior year of soccer, and potentially hockey and softball seemed like the cruelest joke that fate could ever play with my daughter. Fortunately, the skilled staff at the Alpine Clinic performed a successful ACL surgery on Emily. Although Emily could have opted to play hockey, she didn’t want to risk not being able to play her final sport at LI. She was going to do everything in her power to compete in her Senior softball season.
So, after surgery, after physical therapy, it was now time for Emily to find an athletic trainer to get her body fit & ready for softball. She & I did a bit of research, and she made the decision to ask Adrian Guyer @ XIP to help her in her quest to compete again. A few prior clients had complimented Adrian and his crew and recommended him to Emily. Now, truthfully, initially, my thoughts were, ….ok Adrian will be able to help Emily, but he’s probably just “another jock” in the exercise science field .
Well, all l can say, is WOW, was I totally and completely MISTAKEN! From her initial visit, when Emily came home with a comprehensive packet(for a thorough medical and physical history), and throughout her sessions(which I would inquire what Adrian’s regimen was), I can say without a doubt, that we struck gold! Emily started training in earnest in January 2014, and come spring, she was ready, willing and able to participate in her Senior Softball season. Standing on the sidelines, many friends and family would complement Emily’s physique, her thighs were “solid”, and her overall body structure was looking better than it ever had before.
The reason behind this, ….Adrian Guyer. Not only did he help to “rebuild” Emily physically, but he also enabled her to realize the importance of a healthy diet and how this was such a huge component of her performance; I had to smile the day she came home with a big jug of Protein shake mix and a recipe for a post workout shake;)
Due to Emily & Adrian’s hard work and perseverance, Emily was able to play a favorite sport, and end her senior year on a positive note! Although the LI Girls softball team didn’t make it to the finals, there was one playoff game that I will remember for a long time. It was the quarterfinal game against Springfield. It was the bottom of the 7th Inning; LI was losing 3-4. Emily hit the first pitch and blasted the ball over the fence, for a homerun! That tied the game. It went into extra innings, …bottom of 8th, when Emily came up to bat with bases loaded, WHAM!, she smashed a hard hit grounder that scored runners, and thus a Victory!! Emily was “escorted” off the field, and all I could see was her arms and fist pumping!!! I can’t describe all of the emotions at that time seeing and knowing that Emily was back!
The final “icing on the cake” was Emily trying out for & being accepted to play in the Vermont Softball Coaches Association’s 28th Annual NORTH-SOUTH Softball Classic June 26-28, 2014 @ Castleton State College.
Although I was not the direct recipient of Adrian’s training, I was able to see Emily’s progress both mentally & physically from beginning to end. What started out as a girl with “uneven” quads, and mentally a bit depressed for not playing fall & winter sports, ended as a strong body both physically & emotionally. For that I am eternally grateful to Adrian Guyer @ XIP. He definitely encompasses the word “professional”, specialized, qualified, proficient, and expert, and we are all lucky to have him and XIP in the Northeast Kingdom!