After fracturing his collarbone twice in the span of a year, Nick Litsas ’22 still found a way to have hope during his soccer journey. It’s been a bumpy road, but Litsas stayed strong and battled his way through it, though many parts of the recovery process have not been easy..

“The rehab process was really tough,” Litsas said. “After the first fracture I was really demoralized but I had an end goal in sight. I knew I’d be healthy by the start of the soccer season in August. Unfortunately I was impatient and got back to playing too soon, resulting in that second fracture. At that point I felt I’d made one of the biggest mistakes of my life.”

On the flipside, it was very rewarding for Litsas to come back and regain his role on the team as a leader, and begin to have an impact on his teammates.

“After being sidelined so long, I feel I’ve been playing with more desire,” Litsas said. “I’m glad my teammates and coaches kept their faith in me as I got back into form. Being named a captain when it was still unclear how things would turn out was (a) huge (deal) for me.”

Litsas thinks that he and his team are extremely lucky this year to have a team loaded with players who have had experience playing in both district and regional playoff games. In the games, he tries to make sure the team maintains focus and composure. And most importantly, it’s about giving his teammates something to believe in even when the game is heavily against them. The first three weeks of the season were difficult for Litsas to watch since he had to sit on the sidelines for each practice and game.

“It was pretty frustrating watching the team from afar,” Litsas said. “There were moments where I felt I would have been able to really make a difference had I been able to play. Luckily the team still managed to pull through and get the results we needed in those early games.”

Litsas had a lot of defining moments throughout his journey. The best, he said, was his free kick against rival team Grosse Pointe North..

“I was unsure whether or not I was going to play before that game, but when I stepped onto the field in the second half and won it for my team I knew I had made the right decision despite the risk,” Litsas said. “It was one of the most rewarding feelings of my life.”