Lakes student athletes Jacques Montes and Kamron Hok have a lot in common. They both enjoy watching sports, playing video games, and they’re both upperclassmen at Lakes. However, one thing they have in common with many high school athletes around the country is something that has been a recurring issue in youth sports. They have both suffered devastating season ending knee injuries.
The Anterior Cruciate Ligament, ACL for short, is the most important of four other ligaments that hold the knee together. Unfortunately, the ACL tear is the most common knee injury in sports. This school year alone, three Lakes athletes have suffered season ending injuries because of a torn ACL.
Montes, a senior at Lakes, was a varsity boys basketball player last year. “I won’t ever forget [that year] in my life,” said Montes. “I might not have played that much that year, but it was okay. You have to know your role within the team, and that’s what Coach [Snyder] preaches to us.”
Being dedicated more than ever that off-season, Montes was ready to put in the work to become a starter this year. “I was always trying to get reps you know and I really focused on ball handling against pressure, which was something I struggled with Junior year,” Montes exclaimed.
Unfortunately, on June 6, 2023, the Lakes boys basketball team had a summer league game against Mchenry Community High School. During the first moments of the game, Montes tried to take a charge against a MCHS player when he would later find out his ACL was torn. “I extended my leg and I heard my knee pop and then he collided into me and we both fell down,” Montes stated.
“It was pretty scary,” said Montes. “It honestly didn’t hurt, it just felt weird because I just couldn’t feel anything in my leg.”
Montes worked ever since he tore his ACL toward making a comeback for at least the Basketball season. This year, Montes wanted to embark on a new challenge in soccer, but his injury would prevent him from playing the whole year.
Unfortunate news would strike Montes on June 11, 2023. During a re-evaluation, Montes found out that he would not be able to come back for his senior season of Basketball. “I was devastated, but I realized that everything happens for a reason,” said Montes.
Instead of sulking and feeling bad for himself, Montes has put all of his focus into returning for track. “It’s gonna be hard for me to come back to my old self, but I’m just gonna do the best I can and compete,” said Montes.
Another promising athlete at Lakes who suffered an unfortunate season ending injury is Junior, Kamron Hok. Hok was a varsity football player last year and had high expectations for his Junior year, after being pulled up to varsity his sophomore year.
“[That off-season] I trained like an athlete and hit the weight room… and watched TikTok edits of who I want to play like,” said Hok on his off-season grind. Later that summer, Hok would find out that he was switching from tight end to running back, a position he really wanted to play.
On June 29, 2023, three weeks into the off-season summer camp for football, Hok would unfortunately suffer a torn ACL after attempting a spin move. “I definitely didn’t think I tore it,” said Hok about how he felt at that moment. “I thought my kneecap popped out and back in because that’s what it felt like and the trainer said.. But when I found out I was devastated.”
While an ACL tear would bring many down, Hok was motivated to get better then ever and make a full recovery, in time for his Senior season. “[I’ve already started] hitting the weight room and watching last year’s film of the teams we will be playing,” said Hok on how he’s preparing for next season.
We all love sports, for many different reasons, but there will always continue to be the issue of things going beyond our control. At the end of the day, it’s how you take on those challenges and become a greater person as a result of it.
