In eighth grade, Grace tore her ACL during the Coleman vs. Finley basketball game. She was running towards the basket when one of the girls tripped her and they both fell.

“As I hit the floor I knew it was going to be bad,” Sophomore Grace Whitley said. “All I could do at that moment was just lay there”.

After the game, Grace was crying in pain. She felt hopeless and didn’t know what to do. The whole situation took her by surprise.

“That night I was scared of what was going to happen,” Whitley said. “I started to cry and wonder what I could have done to prevent this catastrophe.”

On the day of Graces surgery, the doctor told her some positive news. He told her that if everything went well and she started therapy, she would be able to play in a year.

“I was so excited to get good news,  I instantly felt a lot better about everything,” Grace said.

Since Grace had to wait, she became a basketball manager. It wasn’t that fun to her, but at least she still got to be a part of the team.

“Things happen for a reason,” Whitley said. “In the end, though, everything to me was okay and I was still happy even if I couldn’t play.”