For Glendale’s Adam Henke, his junior baseball season began like any other. He was shagging fly balls in the outfield with a teammate.
“I had worked really really hard in the offseason because I was doing so much to just get better, get bigger, faster, stronger,” Adam said.
But all that work was wiped out in a moment.
“We collided and I went flying through the air and then I landed and I couldn’t move my leg,” Adam said. “That’s when I figured something was definitely wrong.”
Adam tore his MCL, ACL, and PCL and fractured his femur.
“The main concern was just that the recovery time was going to be really long,” Adam said. “I was told I would probably never play again, but I was also told to prove them wrong.”
It’s a challenge Adam has taken to heart.
“He finally came to a game at home and was on crutches,” said Glendale Head Baseball Coach Jim Julian. “That was a huge uplifting moment for him I think and for the team when he walked through the gate and was in the dugout with us.”
But there was a lot of work to be done to get back on the mound.
“Whether it was at physical therapy or at home doing exercises and stretches on my own,” Adam said.
“It was a while before he could walk, but he would get up as painful as it was sometimes,” Julian said. “As hard as it was to do that stuff he was determined to get back and play.”
Now, as a senior, Adam is back on the bump. Hurling strikeouts for the Falcons. His hard work paid off.
“I was ecstatic,” Adam said. “I was really happy to be back on the mound because pitching is what I really love to do and I was really happy to give my team an opportunity to win.”
Make it wins across the board for the Falcons in the three games Adam has pitched in this season.
“I love this game and I wasn’t ready to just let it go yet,” Adam said. “I’m here to stay and I am going to do really well this season.”
