greene_dawg
Senior Member
http://georgia.247sports.com/Article/Tramel-Terry-on-overcoming-adversity-176776
"As a high school football player, the only thing that mattered was winning. We were riding a 20-game-winning streak and were the defending South Carolina state champions. We were sitting on top of the world. I had over 70 scholarship (offers) across the country, and we were looking to repeat another state title after winning the first round of the playoffs. However, things changed for us in a matter of days after finding out that we were ineligible due to a technicality with one of our players who had transferred in. It was heartbreaking for my teammates and me. This would be the first of many personal battles to come over the course of the next month which molded me into the person I am today.
"After having to watch a team win the state title that we had previously beaten, it was hard for me to watch the game from home knowing we should have won. However, I was beginning to move on and prepare for the Under Armour All-America Game and also enrolling early at UGA. However, God had another plan for me. I ended up tearing my ACL and meniscus on the opening kickoff (of the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas All-Star Game). When I felt the pop in my knee, I immediately thought that I was done playing football and that UGA would no longer honor my scholarship, and for someone who loves the game as much as I do, it was heart-breaking. I had to forgo my Under Armour All-American game that I had dreamed of since I first watched A.J. Green play in it when I was in middle school.
"So here I was. I did not get to finish my high school career like I had planned by winning a state title, I had a torn ACL, and I had sacrificed so much to graduate early and early enroll to UGA in the spring — all while not knowing if I still had a scholarship available. However, things began to look promising when Coach Mark Richt called me to let me know that I still had a spot at UGA. This was the best news I had heard in quite some time. As a 18-year-old that had just had the thing he loved most taken away, it was very hard to deal with. However, I pushed on.
"I arrived at UGA on January 2, a nervous wreck, unsure of my future and nervous for my surgery that would take place two days later. I thought Athens would be everything I imagined it to be when I took my visit, but I was wrong. I was stuck in my dorm room and the only places I went were to therapy and the dining hall. The handicap van took me everywhere so I was not able to meet or socialize with anyone. I felt alone and very out of place as if I made the wrong decision coming to UGA. I can distinctly remember a time when everyone was at Steak and Shake and I was at my dorm. Nobody had reached out to invite me, and at that point I was ready to go back to Charleston with my family and friends.
"However, I decided to stay and persevere through the injuries and heartache. I came to UGA with a purpose, and that was to earn my degree and make a name for myself doing the thing I loved most -- playing football. I put in countless hours to rehabilitate my knee in hopes of being able to play this season. However, once again I was hit with another obstacle. When preseason camp rolled in I began to have other knee problems. It became quite clear that I would not be ready. Again I was questioning my decision to come to Georgia after they told me I would be redshirted.
"However, my teammate Arthur Lynch told me about a similar situation he faced. He told me that everyone here has faced some type of adversity and that those that handle it are the ones who are successful. These words would stick with me the whole time and motivate me to get bigger, faster and stronger during my redshirt year.
"Everyday people all over the world encounter tough obstacles, whether its mental or physical. The great Rocky Balboa once said, “Ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!” The adversity I faced as an 18 year old, four hours away from home, surrounded by people I did not know and dealing with a possible career-ending injury was the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with. However, I persevered with discipline, patience and hard work so that I could accomplish my goals that I set for myself a year ago.
-- Tramel Terry
"As a high school football player, the only thing that mattered was winning. We were riding a 20-game-winning streak and were the defending South Carolina state champions. We were sitting on top of the world. I had over 70 scholarship (offers) across the country, and we were looking to repeat another state title after winning the first round of the playoffs. However, things changed for us in a matter of days after finding out that we were ineligible due to a technicality with one of our players who had transferred in. It was heartbreaking for my teammates and me. This would be the first of many personal battles to come over the course of the next month which molded me into the person I am today.
"After having to watch a team win the state title that we had previously beaten, it was hard for me to watch the game from home knowing we should have won. However, I was beginning to move on and prepare for the Under Armour All-America Game and also enrolling early at UGA. However, God had another plan for me. I ended up tearing my ACL and meniscus on the opening kickoff (of the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas All-Star Game). When I felt the pop in my knee, I immediately thought that I was done playing football and that UGA would no longer honor my scholarship, and for someone who loves the game as much as I do, it was heart-breaking. I had to forgo my Under Armour All-American game that I had dreamed of since I first watched A.J. Green play in it when I was in middle school.
"So here I was. I did not get to finish my high school career like I had planned by winning a state title, I had a torn ACL, and I had sacrificed so much to graduate early and early enroll to UGA in the spring — all while not knowing if I still had a scholarship available. However, things began to look promising when Coach Mark Richt called me to let me know that I still had a spot at UGA. This was the best news I had heard in quite some time. As a 18-year-old that had just had the thing he loved most taken away, it was very hard to deal with. However, I pushed on.
"I arrived at UGA on January 2, a nervous wreck, unsure of my future and nervous for my surgery that would take place two days later. I thought Athens would be everything I imagined it to be when I took my visit, but I was wrong. I was stuck in my dorm room and the only places I went were to therapy and the dining hall. The handicap van took me everywhere so I was not able to meet or socialize with anyone. I felt alone and very out of place as if I made the wrong decision coming to UGA. I can distinctly remember a time when everyone was at Steak and Shake and I was at my dorm. Nobody had reached out to invite me, and at that point I was ready to go back to Charleston with my family and friends.
"However, I decided to stay and persevere through the injuries and heartache. I came to UGA with a purpose, and that was to earn my degree and make a name for myself doing the thing I loved most -- playing football. I put in countless hours to rehabilitate my knee in hopes of being able to play this season. However, once again I was hit with another obstacle. When preseason camp rolled in I began to have other knee problems. It became quite clear that I would not be ready. Again I was questioning my decision to come to Georgia after they told me I would be redshirted.
"However, my teammate Arthur Lynch told me about a similar situation he faced. He told me that everyone here has faced some type of adversity and that those that handle it are the ones who are successful. These words would stick with me the whole time and motivate me to get bigger, faster and stronger during my redshirt year.
"Everyday people all over the world encounter tough obstacles, whether its mental or physical. The great Rocky Balboa once said, “Ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!” The adversity I faced as an 18 year old, four hours away from home, surrounded by people I did not know and dealing with a possible career-ending injury was the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with. However, I persevered with discipline, patience and hard work so that I could accomplish my goals that I set for myself a year ago.
-- Tramel Terry
