Jenna Byers

My name is Jenna Byers I’m a junior (redshirt sophomore) on the Texas A&M Women’s soccer team. I’ve faced a lot of injuries in my time as a college athlete, but I know it’s the adversity that God used to showed me who I am and where my purpose and identity lie. I started college a semester early in the spring of 2016. In the first week of practice in February I tore my right ACL and 3 days later was told I also needed to have surgery on my right hip because I had a torn labrum. I had my knee surgery in March, then 12 weeks later had my hip surgery in June. I redshirted my freshman year and wasn’t able to practice until November, the end of our season. In the spring of 2017 I was finally playing soccer again. That April during our last spring game I tore my left ACL. I rehabbed all summer and was released to play again in October- 4 and half months after surgery. Fast forward to 2018; in August, a week before preseason, I tore my hamstring and was out for 12 weeks. I missed all but the last 5 games of our season. In 3 years I’ve played a total of 47 minutes and have never played in a real game on our home field. Though it has been hard and I have been broken down, I know the Lord created this perfect path to bring me closer to Him and live a life for the Kingdom. When college athletes face long term injuries we feel overlooked, undervalued and irrelevant in the sports world. If we chose to believe these lies then we live in defeat- but if you live by the truth which is that He never forsakes us and that our value lies in more than just our sport, no matter the circumstance we can live with Joy and show the strength of our scars!