New Ulm senior Adam Macho plays

through the pain of two torn ACL's

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- We have all heard about an athlete "playing through an injury."

And when we hear that, we assume that he or she is nursing a sprained anke or wrist.

But for New Ulm High School hockey player Adam Macho, playing through an injury means just a little more.

You see, Macho is playing hockey this season despite torn ACLs in both his right and left knees.

His routine is unlike any other.

"I put two braces on my knees before practices and games, " he said. "They may bind a little bit but I work through that. I also do a lot of stretching to get my leg muscles loose."

Macho tore one ACL in summer playing baseball and the other playing lacrosse with friends.

He had intial surgery on both knees -- an arthroscopic surgery on both knees to repair initial damage -- that revealed both his ACLs were torn.

"Dr. Garske, who performed the surgery, said that I had the option of playing hockey or having surgery on my ACL," Macho said. "Being a senior and this my last season of high school hockey, I decided to play with the braces."

Also involved in this were his parents, Tom and Marilyn Macho.

Tom Macho is also the head coach of the Eagles; hockey team.

"At first, we were leary about him playing hockey because of the injury," Tom Macho said. "But it was his decision to play and we honored that. I really think that him not playing was ever an option."

"I just take everything in stride," Marilyn Macho said. "It has never worried me after being through hockey this long (husband Tom has coached NUHS for 29 years) and having an older son, Scott being through hockey."

"It would have been tough not play," Adam said. "If this had happened my junior year, I probably would have had the surgery on both ACLs. But my parants have always been very supportive of me. That means a lot."

Recovery time for this type of surgery is between eight to nine months.

"I really wanted to keep playing hockey," the senior defensemen said. "This is my favorite sport and being a senior, I did not want to miss this."

Macho admits that there are times on the ice when " one of my knees feels funny but I just adjust it and keep on playing."

Coach -- and father Tom -- sometimes is "a little nervous when he is on the ice and something happens. There are times when he gets hit in a corner and slumps a little and my heart jumps into my throat for a second."

"I do worry about him injuring the knee further," Marilyn Macho said. "But if it does, it does. I don't get to shook up over it. We wanted to get him surgery to get him through it. The knees do sometimes hurt him after games and I will tell him to ice them."

"I know that he has a job to do on the ice. Being his dad and his coach , it sometimes is hard separate that," Tom said. "There may be times when he makes a bad pass on the ice that may cost us a goal. He will skate back to the bench and I will jump on him for that pass but right away ask him how his knees are doing."

"He has gone through a lot just to get where he is right now," Tom said. "He has put a lot of work into getting strength back into his knees. He is sore sometimes -- there is not swelling right now after games -- but we still worry that one wrong hit and it could be over."

But the senior realizes that he cannot worry about further hurting his knees.

"If I did that, I could not play the game the way that I want to, I play the game all-out," Adam said.

The defenseman also says that there are players on his team right now that are playing hurt as he is " with sore shoulders, wrists. They are hurting just as much as I am."

While there are members of the Eagle hockey team that are hurt, coach Macho feels that he is not quite as sympathetic for them when they come in with injuries.

"I know that there are some players that are hurting, but I look at Adam and what he has gone through to get where he is now. And I somehow do not have the same feelings that I would have had. I see what Adam has and is going through."

Adam Macho said that he probably will have surgery on both knees after hockey. "That depends on whether or not I play baseball this spring," he said.

But for now, Macho plays through the injuries and plays the game that he loves.