Recovering soccer player reaches a goal
Le-Morrison joins team after months in hospital
GREENFIELD - As Greenfield High School senior soccer player Trevor LeMorrison wound back his right foot and put the ball in the back of the net on senior night Monday, a sense of familiarity he had longed for months for washed over him.
“I had coach on the sideline, my team right behind me, which made me feel normal,” Le-Morrison said. “It kind of warmed my heart.”
Normalcy has been hard to come by for Le-Morrison since a May 21 hit-andrun accident left him with two broken femurs, a broken collarbone, fractured vertebrae and brain bleeding, among other injuries. He remained in the hospital until Aug. 11, recovering and relearning how to walk.
“He has to learn walking stairs, he basically has to learn everything again,” Trevor’s mother, Oanh Le, said. “He’s doing good at it, he improves daily, his speed is getting faster.”
Taking the time to recover from his injuries also meant returning to his role as team captain for Greenfield soccer on the field at the start of the season was not possible. However, with coordination between Greenfield head coach Peter Knebel and Woodland Conference rival Brown Deer, Monday’s conference finale for the Hawks provided a full-circle moment for all.
Upon learning of Le-Morrison’s story, Brown Deer agreed to stand down on the opening kickoff, allowing him to dribble down the field and score. Greenfield in turn allowed Brown Deer to even the game back at one with a conceded goal once Le-Morrison was subbed out. The Hawks ultimately beat the visiting Falcons 5-2. For fellow Greenfield senior and captain Brandon Vosters,sharing the field one more time with his friend was a moment he will never forget.
“When (the accident) first happened, I didn’t think I was going to be able to do it again, but then here we are tonight,” Vosters said. “I don’t know how to explain it, it was like …I’m just grateful for it to happen, for it to be a possibility tonight.”
An outpouring of support for LeMorrison began from the outset of his recovery, highlighted by financial assistance toward his medical bills through a GoFundMe campaign created by his coach, which has raised more than $40,000. Knebel was surprised to see how far the story and subsequent support reached, especially in the soccer community.
“One of our JV players was on the elevator with the UW-Whitewater head coach,” Knebel said. “He said to my player, ‘So tell me about this kid Trevor, is he a good player?’ and my JV player said ‘No, he’s a great player.’ That defines who he is and how our program is,” Knebel said.
Le added that not a day has gone by without someone reaching out to ask how Trevor was doing or extend prayers.
“I hope Trevor knows that he’s loved,” Le said. “I hope Trevor knows that everyone’s got his back and has been behind him since the accident.”
For Le-Morrison, returning to the field on Monday was not just about saving some semblance of his season, but also about giving back to a community that rose up to help him.
“They’ve always been there for me, so I know if I can be here, I should be there with my team to motivate them and show them that I’m here,” Le-Morrison said. “They were there for me, so I was here for them.”