St. Mark's School '24 John Hegarty suffered a major injury to his right knee while playing basketball for the Lions last winter. He chipped a bone in his femur, which entered into his knee joint.
Doctors also found a lesion in the medial condyle of the same knee. In January, Hegarty underwent surgery while facing a projected recovery timetable of six to nine months.
As time slowly ticked forward, Hegarty began to wonder if he would be able to return to his prior form of his sophomore year when he was an ISL Honorable Mention recipient. However, Hegarty tried to clear his mind of any negative thoughts and remained upbeat.
"I just knew that I needed to stay positive and focus on school work and rehab,'' Hegarty said. "It was a struggle at times and I often felt like I would never be the same player I was before. But with dedication and perseverance, I was able to return earlier than I expected by two months.''
