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| Photo Credit: James Escher |
Suffering one potentially career-ending injury is a lot for an athlete to compartmentalize and rehab from. But suffering a different one just as you are about to return to full strength? Well that’s just absolutely cruel.
Connetquot’s senior and Stony Brook-bound pitcher Matt Buckshaw had to face just that. After being diagnosed with a torn UCL and facing Tommy John Surgery he faced an uphill recovery. He ultimately completed the rehab, returned to the mound only to…tear his ACL?
“It’s hard to think I had two of the toughest injuries that an athlete could have,” said Buckshaw. “I think what was worse was the timing of my ACL because it was during an important recruiting summer for myself,” he added.
Aside from the obvious disappointment and obstacle of rehabbing, he had to face the reality that he would miss two crucial years of development, miss game action and be evaluated by colleges based off his uncertain future.
During that time, Connetquot went on to play in consecutive Suffolk County title games.
Fortunately, Buckshaw had two things in his favor. First, he had New York Mets team physicial David Altchek perform the surgery along with Brian Becker assist in rehab. Also, he had accrued enough of a reputation from his 5-0 freshman season and ensuing tournaments that he was a sought-after commodity.
“In 9th grade, Stony Brook attended one of my games and I didn’t even know it,” he said. “My college thoughts didn’t heat up until I was going into my senior year. When I had injured my knee I kept telling my family and coaches that I wanted to go to Stony Brook because of their uprising baseball program and the amazing medical programs they offer,” he said. The rest is history.
Entering his senior year, Buckshaw has the peace of mind knowing that he is not only healthy and ready to contribute but will be attending Stony Brook after the season.
Connetquot will be one of the favorites to compete for the Suffolk County title. “My hopes for this season is to bring my team back to a Suffolk County Championship game for the third year in a row. Especially to win a state title, since this is the last year that Long Island teams will be able to compete for a title,” he added.
Oh yeah, let’s not forget about the health factor.
“Also to stay healthy and be ready for Stony Brook come the fall,” he said.
During the lowest of lows, Buckshaw used music as his inspiration. More specifically, he listened to baseball player-turned-rapper Mike Stud.
“I met him at his concerts and he’d always say good luck and to keep going no matter what. It’s cool to see I have a similarity with a guy like him. I was actually listening to him as I was walking into my Tommy John Surgery.
Stud played his college baseball at Duke University. He was named All-American as a freshman after he compiled a 1.61 ERA and nine saves. He had Tommy John Surgery.
He told me that while his fastball velocity returned back to the 94 mph range, he struggled with his command. It evaporated his draft status and he became interested in rapping during that time. The decision has worked out well for him, as he went on to debut his rookie album at No. 1 on the iTunes hip hop chart in May of last year.
Buckshaw has no plans of becoming a rapper, but he was inspired to continue returning to peak form throughout his rehab.
Keep an eye on Buckshaw as he returns to the mound and hopes to lead his squad to the promise land.
