Heart of a warrior: Coastal Carolina’s Kelly set for 2020 season
CONWAY, S.C. (BVM) — The 2019 football season was looking bright for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. In their second game of the year, they traveled to Lawrence, Kan., to square off with the Jayhawks.
They left David Booth Memorial Stadium that night with their first win in school history over a Power 5 team. But they also left with the loss of one of their defensive anchors, redshirt junior Silas Kelly. Kelly tore his ACL mid-game, and was out for the remainder of the year.
A tough pill to swallow, the Chants carried on and finished the year with a 5-7 mark. Kelly had to sit back and watch from the sidelines, with what was his third career injury. First his shoulder, then his hand, and now his knee. With what was supposed to be a successful year ahead, he found it hard to deal with at the time.
“I struggled with how to handle that and cope with that for a long time,” Kelly said.
To make matters worse, COVID-19 hit during the middle of his rehab process. He had just begun running again, and needed his trainer’s help with the appropriate progressions to continue improving. But he couldn’t see his trainer, physical therapist, or doctor for four months.
“I was in conversations with my trainer and physical therapist via text and phone call but it’s hard to see and feel things out over the phone,” Kelly said. “A lot of running and cutting progressions are much easier done in person.”
So while the Chants’ linebacker tried to manage rehab on his own, a saving grace presented itself. One of Kelly’s roommate’s dads had a bunch of weights at home, and was willing to drive those to their home.
Kelly and his roommates set them up right in their living room. A squat rack and a bench press allowed them to work out at their own convenience, which they did five to six days a week. They worked out so much so that Kelly’s squat midway through quarantine was stronger than it ever was pre-injury.
Now with his confidence boosted and his knee feeling almost 100 percent, Kelly looks back on his injuries with a different mindset. He’s actually grateful for them, believing that they have improved him as a football player and a young man.
“I’ve gone through some hard times in my life and I’ve been able to persevere through them. These are just some more adversities I’ve had the opportunity to overcome,” Kelly said. “I’m seeing it as a strengthening experience in my life and something I was growing through.”
Not only has he taken an optimistic approach to the way he views his injuries, but he has noticed that it actually taught him a great deal as well.
“These injuries have taught me that everything happens for a reason and you can do anything you set your mind to,” Kelly said. “They have made me appreciate playing football and being in the position I’m in. They’ve taken me outside of myself to view it from a different perspective.”
As he continues in his rehab and the season fast approaches, the Sun Belt is still planning on sports competition this fall. So Kelly will get the opportunity to shine in his redshirt senior year. He has already been named a 2020 Phil Steele Preseason Sun Belt Conference All-Conference Fourth Team Player.
But to him, despite the injuries, that’s not high enough.
“I don’t think I’m a fourth team player. I’ve always believed I’m a first team player. I have the capability to be first team and even defensive player of the year. That’s my mindset, and it has been each year,” Kelly said. “I 100 percent believe I’m one of the best players in this league.”
But when it comes down to it, Kelly is just fortunate to be able to take to the field with his team again. He is ready to play some football, and he doesn’t have too much longer to wait as their season kicks off on Sept. 12 in Lawrence, Kan., where they’ll get a rematch with the Jayhawks.
“My teammates are who I do it for,” Kelly said. “I’m going through rehab and working out so I can come back and contribute everything I can for my teammates, go to a bowl game and win the conference championship.”
