Christine Gloth, NJ Youth Soccer
NJYS Comeback Player of the Year Award Is Presented By JAG Physical Therapy
New Jersey Youth Soccer continues its celebration of the 2024 NJYS Awards Presented by RWJBarnabas Health, officially recognizing Courtney Irwin of FC Copa Academy and Santonio “Tony” Blakely of Hamilton Soccer Club as recipients of the NJYS Comeback Player of the Year Award Presented by JAG Physical Therapy. The Comeback Player of the Year Award was created to honor individuals who overcame adversity or injury to exceed expectations and return to the soccer field.
Courtney Irwin suffered an ACL tear injury on March 27, 2022, during her sixth season with FC Copa Academy. Since that injury occurred, she has demonstrated an exceptional level of discipline to push through adversity, difficult feelings and incredible pain, which has since allowed her to not only get back on the field but also remain uninjured. During her recovery from ACL reconstruction surgery, Irwin worked extremely hard in therapy and never missed a session. During rehabilitation, she also continued to attend games to support her team while she was unable to play. 10 months after the injury, she was finally cleared for a return to playing soccer. After two months of intense training, she earned back her starting position and played an integral role in helping her FC Copa Academy team win a national title in the summer of 2023. Irwin has since committed to Kean University to play college soccer and continue her education.
“Thank you to New Jersey Youth Soccer for honoring me with the Comeback Player of the Year Award,” said Irwin of receiving the award. “While I deeply appreciate the recognition for my months of hard work in recovery, my motivation came from my parents, my FC Copa family and my passion for success and soccer. The most rewarding part of my recovery has been the lessons I learned such as discipline, delayed gratification, consistency and to be grateful for every second I get to play soccer.”
During soccer practice on August 10, 2022, Santonio “Tony” Blakely began to suffer from a headache that later progressed into slurred speech, which led his parents to immediately take him to the hospital. Upon arrival at the hospital, they received the terrifying news that he was suffering from bleeding in his brain as well as a stroke. He was quickly airlifted to RWJ University Hospital in New Brunswick for treatment, where he received a craniotomy to open his skull and endured more than seven hours of surgery on his brain. The cause of the injury was an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), and the emergency surgery was thankfully a successful procedure.
Over the next several months of recovery, Blakely had to learn how to walk, run, write, speak and perform many physical tasks all over again. Further, he could not attend school or play in an active environment for many months after the procedure. Miraculously, his incredible focus and determination eventually led to a return to travel soccer with Hamilton Soccer Club for the fall season in 2023. Since his return, Blakely has been an integral part of the team’s success in winning their flight and competing for the MOSA Cup. Tony claims that soccer helped save his life, from his soccer family who helped him get to the hospital on that frightening day to his motivation to get better so he could play the game again.
“Thank you NJYS for honoring me with the 2023 Comeback Player of the Year Award, and thank you to the Hamilton Soccer Club coaches for thinking of me and for nominating me for this award,” said Blakely. “I would especially like to thank my family for being there for me every step of the way, the neurosurgeons who saved my life, as well as the medical staff at the Robert Wood Johnson Children’s Hospital and Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick for being determined to help me survive and recover. I am very thankful and want to remind people that just because you get knocked down, doesn’t mean that you can’t get back up and push forward.”
The perseverance and bravery shown by these amazing young athletes is a true inspiration for all, making them both extremely worthy recipients of the NJYS Comeback Player of the Year Presented by JAG Physical Therapy.
In addition to a plaque to commemorate their achievements, Irwin and Blakely were both treated to a congratulatory video tribute that was played on video screens for the awards dinner audience to enjoy. Irwin’s video was filmed by Tab Ramos, former U.S. Men’s National Team captain and National Soccer Hall of Fame and NJYS Hall of Fame member. Blakely received a video from Tony Meola, a former U.S. Men’s National Team goalkeeper who is also a National Soccer Hall of Fame and NJYS Hall of Fame member. Additionally, they both received a custom ball from SIGND displaying a QR code that provided access to their personalized videos.
NJ Youth Soccer recently held its 2024 NJYS Annual Awards Dinner Presented by RWJBarnabas Health, where many players, coaches and guests of the soccer community were on hand at the Pines Manor in Edison, N.J. With more than 1,000 attendees, the event saw a capacity crowd for the annual celebration.
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