Twinsburg's Sophie Adick fighting back after torn ACL

Basketball wasn’t always a top choice for Twinsburg’s Sophie Adick, but even after a devastating ACL tear in the final pre-season soccer scrimmage late last summer, she has worked hard to return to the basketball court.

A multi-sport athlete, it could have been easy for Adick to skip her final winter on the hardwoods – even though this is her fourth season of varsity basketball.

After all, the injury tested Adick’s positive mindset as she missed her senior season for the Tiger’s juggernaut soccer program.

Most young student athletes would be devastated and it would be expected for someone like Adick to take a pass on her final hoop season especially when basketball may not be her favorite sport – or possibly not even in her top two. Adick is also a four-year veteran of Twinsburg’s powerful track and field program.

Adick wanted to be a part of the new energy on the basketball court, but more importantly, she is dedicated to the teams that she has committed to throughout her athletic career.

“This senior season means so much to me because this is making up for the lack of a senior season I had in soccer,” said Adick, who did partake in some warm-up drills prior to her return.

Under the direction of first year head coach Ryan Looman, a veteran of the coaching ranks in northeast Ohio, this winter’s version of Tiger basketball will feature a lot of athletes and a ton of youth, but mostly, there is a new energy.

Not only did Adick want to be a part of the new “buzz” on the court – it was deemed for her as the right thing to do.

“My goals for this season are to get out without any further knee injury and stay healthy so I can do track and field in the spring,” said Adick.

The process was slow, but steady.

“Sophie had been working hard to rehab,” said Looman. “Sophie returned and resumed activities.”

“A second-team All-Suburban League player, Sophie brings some toughness in the paint and can rebound with the best of them,” added Looman. “She is a team captain.”

For Adick, the recovery was the biggest challenges she has faced yet.

“Recovering from my ACL tear in August has been one of the hardest things I have faced in my 17 years of life, especially without surgery,” Adick siad. “I knew whether or not I played basketball this year, I still wanted to be on the team and cheer them on.”

“I have been consecutively going to physical therapy for over five months now trying to get my knee in the best shape it can be for this season,” Adick said.

“I think the biggest challenge I faced with this recovery has been sitting out, especially because it is my senior year. I had to sit out my entire senior soccer season which was really hard for me because that was the last time I would be playing soccer ever and I could not even play.”

It was a missed opportunity not having that senior soccer season, but Adick was determined.

“I didn’t even think playing on a torn ACL was possible until I heard a few stories of people who did, and that’s when I knew I did not want to go out in basketball like I did in soccer - so I knew I had to give it a chance.”

Besides being a 4-year letter winner in basketball, Adick was a 3-year letter winner in soccer and hopes to compete in her fourth year in track.

Throwing the shot put, Adick owns one of the program’s top 10 all-time distances in 34-feet and 7.75 inches. She also throws the discus and has surpassed 101 feet.

“Soccer has always been my love growing up because I was never good at basketball, but once I got to high school and realized I am actually pretty good at basketball, I’d say soccer and basketball are pretty even now,” projected Adick.

“I have been playing basketball ever since I was little, back in the travel days, but I just started taking it seriously once I got to high school,” Adick pointed out.

The modest Adick went on, but many times the successful athletes are the ones who know their limitations, and then excel.

“I realized very fast that I am not a three-point shooter and I am on the smaller side of a post player only being 5-foot-9, so I knew I had to find the in between to be able to help my team and score. I just started focusing on my close-range shots my sophomore year so by my senior year, they are pretty good.”

Footwork and strong angles on position defense in the paint are critical and Adick always moves and has her hands active for the Tigers, who have gone 4-8 against a quality schedule.

“I think my basketball IQ is probably one of my greatest strengths as a basketball player because I think it has to do with all the other sports I play and I just see the court differently,” Adick explained.

Last season, Adick followed her improvement in rebounding and on defense and showed her growth in scoring as she had a career high 18 points in one outing. She averaged 8.0 points and almost 7.0 rebounds a game.

Twinsburg will lean on the experience of returning senior starters in Adick, Alexis Cellura and Genesis Carthen.

While athletics may not be in her future, Adick plans on going to college to study business and marketing.

As the Twinsburg Class of 2023 Treasurer and a member of Student Council, Adick’s approach and dedication will go a long way toward building a bright future.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Twinsburg's Adick completes comeback after knee injury