Spartan Daily

Spartans senior fights through knee injury, adjusts to lineup changes

Senior forward Kelsy Holm practices with her teammates at Spartan Stadium on Tuesday. Surgery to repair missing cartilage in her left knee forced Holm to sit out most of the 2010 season. Photo by Dillon Engstrom / Contributing Photographer

Spartan senior Kelsy Holm has always put her team first and herself second.

The women's soccer team athlete battled through injuries and adjusted to various position shifts to become one of the most experienced players on the SJSU squad.

“I know every position relatively well, some better than others, but wherever my coach wants me, I’ll play it,” said the 21 year old.

The senior kinesiology major, who wants to be a sports psychiatrist, played center-back freshman year, switched to the midfield during her sophomore year and has been moved to forward for the 2011 season.

Coach Jeff Leightman said Holm has adapted well to the many changes.

“We can plug her in at different places and she gives us experience and composure,” he said.

Holm said she injured her left knee in preparation for her junior season.

During a match against CSU Bakersfield early in the 2010 season, Holm said she collided with an opponent.

It turned out that Holm had missing cartilage in her left knee, which she said resulted in bone-on-bone grinding, forcing her to receive surgery to repair the damaged cartilage.

Since she was out for the season, Holm redshirted.

Holm said she aggravated her knee injury earlier this summer, and is receiving Synvisc-One injections to be able to play this season.

Synvisc, according to its website, is used treat osteoarthritis and is made "from a natural substance that lubricates and cushions your joint."

Holm said she will more than likely need surgery again once this season is over.

“It’s difficult when you’ve been out with an injury,” Leightman said of Holm returning to the lineup. “It’s like coming in as a freshman.”

Teammate Angela Santoro said Holm’s positive attitude really stands out.

“She’s really helped other teammates even when she’s down herself,” Santoro said. “She’s someone that can push her own injuries aside and help other people.”

Despite her knee problems, Holm went from recording shots on goal in her first few seasons to actually scoring her first collegiate goal, which she collected on her first shot-on-goal this year against UC Davis in August.

“My idea was to go out there, pressure the opposing team’s defense as I hard as I could and try and force a bad clearance — which is what happened against the UC Davis goalkeeper. We were able to capitalize on it,” she said. “Anywhere my coach wants me to play, I’ll play, and I’ll do my absolute best at it.”

The way she scored her goal against the UC Davis Aggies showed it wasn’t her first time playing on the attack.

“I took a lot of shots, but I’ve just always been a defensive-minded player,” Holm said of her first two years of action as a Spartan. “For me to score my first collegiate goal was really nice because I haven’t scored since high school, probably. It’s a good feeling, definitely, to help out the team in some way.”

Holm said it was kind of odd when her coach first told her that he wanted to try her up at forward after playing mostly defense for the past few years.

“When you grow up playing soccer, especially when you’re at this level, you know how to play every position,” she said. “You’ve been there at least once before whether it’s a couple years ago, five years ago, 10 years ago. You know the main objective of it.”

Holm said she played for the Arsenal Football Club in Temecula when she was growing up.

One of the largest youth soccer clubs in the United States, Holm said she was a captain on her Arsenal teams for six years.

“It was a great experience,” she said. “I loved my club coach, my club team. It was, by far, an awesome experience that got me to where I am today.”