By Adam Morris ‘15 |Staff Writer

It’s his Senior year. He’s captain of the boys’ tennis team and is playing extremely  well in his matches.  Colden Gosselin ’14 had everything going for him until he discovered some heartbreaking news.

Since the age of four, Gosselin has played tennis for USTA teams and entered tournaments.  He took private lessons in order to improve himself even more.  Gosselin averaged playing five times a week.

On the South tennis team, Gosselin was a captain his junior and senior year.  Both years he played at the top under two singles.  

“I was so pumped for my senior year tennis season,”  said Gosselin.  “I put in all the work and dedication in order to get myself to this position.”  

Just recently, Gosselin encountered an obstacle in his tennis career.  

“I have hypermobility in my shoulders, I can pop my joints in and out of place,”  said Gosselin.

Through tennis he strained and wore out his shoulders and his right one slowly tore away.  The doctor said Gosselin has bursitis in his shoulder and a 30 percent tear of his rotator cuff.

“They put an IV in my arm to numb my shoulder down through my arm and put a block in my shoulder.  I’d say the surgery took around two hours,” said Gosselin.

In order to fully heal and get back to playing tennis, Gosselin had to wear a sling around his shoulder for approximately six weeks and must undergo three to four months of intense physical therapy.  

Giving it time is the most important way for his shoulder to heal, Gosselin said.  He hopes around February he can start doing light sports and activities that involve his shoulder.

“Colden’s injury has made life more difficult, he can’t do regular things that he normally could do. He can’t drive for six weeks which is a hassle,” his mother, Mimi Gosselin said.

The decision when to have the surgery done was very difficult, Mimi Gosselin said.  

“We didn’t know whether to wait until after the tennis season to have it done or do it before,” said Mimi Gosselin.

Gosselin’s coach and teammates were very upset when they heard about his injury.

“Colden was an important player when it came to winning our singles.  And now that he’s gone, it’s up to everyone to fight for every match,” ’ said Brendan Clune ‘15.

“It was a tough decision to make and it was unfortunate it happened but I think I made the right choice to have the surgery right away,”   said Gosselin.

Every day, Gosselin faces new challenges.

“It’s hard with this sling. I have to get up earlier, everything takes a lot more time,” said Gosselin. “Getting books at school is exceptionally more difficult and at first I couldn’t even write with my dominant right hand.”

 “Colden was initially depressed because of his injury, but he knows it was the right thing to do,” said Mimi Gosselin.  “He probably would have made it to the semi-finals in the State tournament so this is really disappointing to our family and him.  But I’m glad he will be healthy soon.”

“I am very grateful for our doctor and all of the work he has done,” said Mimi Gosselin.  “Instead of an 80 percent tear it’s only a 30 percent tear in his rotator cuff.  We all thought the tear was more significant and we’re ecstatic that it’s not.”

Gosselin still attends practice and every match for the tennis team.

“Colden comes to practice and motivates each player to the best of his ability and supports the entire team at matches,”  said Clune.  

“I am quickly recovering according to the doctor and I’m working extremely hard in physical therapy,”   said Gosselin.

He plans on playing tennis in the future years, whether it’s in college or on a club team, but he says he never will give up the sport despite the outcome of his surgery.