Q&A: Matt Cooley

Mill Stream: How did you injure your knee, and what was the extent of the injury?

Matt Cooley: The summer before my sophomore year at a football practice, I was playing quarterback, and after I made a pass, I went to lead block.  I jumped over a guy on the ground, and my foot landed in a sprinkler hole on the other side.  My weight shifted, and I ended up tearing my ACL, PCL, LCL, MCL, my lateral meniscus, both of my bicep tendons, and my perinial nerve.   I have five inches of dead nerve, and permanent foot drop.

MS: What were your goals/feelings about the season before your injury?

MC: To rotate in on varsity

MS: What was your reaction to the injury?

MC: Just that I knew I couldn’t play.  I wasn’t as worried about the injury as I was about the fact that I couldn’t play.

MS: How did it interfere with your previous goals?

MC: Obviously I couldn’t play that year, and I missed baseball too, so I made it a goal to play baseball my sophomore year, which I did.

MS: What are you working on now?

MC: Basically rehab for my foot to keep the joints loose in my ankle so that when the nerve regenerates, I’ll be able to use my foot,

MS: What is your biggest fear playing now?

MC: I don’t really have any fears because it can to anyone, and mine just happened stepping in a sprinkler hole.