After taking a year out to focus on netball, Kayla Frew has suffered a devastating blow. Back in March, just two days out from her first game for Canterbury, what felt like an innocuous twinge in her knee turned out to be a season-ending injury as she tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
"It was just a normal game situation where I took the ball at the top of the circle but I landed a bit funny and heard a pop," Frew said.
The "pop" was her knee ligament tearing, but also sounded the end of her season before it had started.
"I thought I would be fine and back playing in a week.
"I didn't think it was too serious because with an ACL injury it's supposed to swell but I had nothing.
"I went to the physio and she said I had torn my ACL and I would be out for the season.
"It felt like the worst day of my life."
For good reason, as Frew had taken the year off to pursue netball seriously and had already taken some big steps.
She made the Canterbury team for the Louis Muir Challenge and gained selection for Tech in the Christchurch premier netball competition, but missed the opportunity to play a single game for either.
"I've still been helping out with Tech where Andrea Cousins is coaching. I'm still trying to learn as much as I can even though I can't practise it but that means I will be on the ball for next season."
However, to look at her you wouldn't be able to tell that anything is wrong.
"It's a weird injury.
"People who know I have done something see me walking and say 'I thought you were injured' because I'm not limping or anything. The strange thing is it starts to get better before you have the surgery.
"I can still do most things but I just can't go sideways.
"If I want to play netball again I need the surgery to repair it."
Frew's year off to pursue netball and ponder what step to take post secondary school will involve more pondering with six months of recovery after the June 3 surgery.
"After speaking with the surgeon I chose to have the patella-tendon rather than the hamstring-tendon surgery, because as the doctor put it, it will be more 'bullet proof' when I come back."
"It was just a normal game situation where I took the ball at the top of the circle but I landed a bit funny and heard a pop," Frew said.
The "pop" was her knee ligament tearing, but also sounded the end of her season before it had started."I thought I would be fine and back playing in a week.
"I didn't think it was too serious because with an ACL injury it's supposed to swell but I had nothing.
"I went to the physio and she said I had torn my ACL and I would be out for the season.
"It felt like the worst day of my life."
For good reason, as Frew had taken the year off to pursue netball seriously and had already taken some big steps.
She made the Canterbury team for the Louis Muir Challenge and gained selection for Tech in the Christchurch premier netball competition, but missed the opportunity to play a single game for either.
"I've still been helping out with Tech where Andrea Cousins is coaching. I'm still trying to learn as much as I can even though I can't practise it but that means I will be on the ball for next season."
However, to look at her you wouldn't be able to tell that anything is wrong.
"It's a weird injury.
"People who know I have done something see me walking and say 'I thought you were injured' because I'm not limping or anything. The strange thing is it starts to get better before you have the surgery.
"I can still do most things but I just can't go sideways.
"If I want to play netball again I need the surgery to repair it."
Frew's year off to pursue netball and ponder what step to take post secondary school will involve more pondering with six months of recovery after the June 3 surgery.
"After speaking with the surgeon I chose to have the patella-tendon rather than the hamstring-tendon surgery, because as the doctor put it, it will be more 'bullet proof' when I come back."
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