Sport Management students in Brendan O’Hallarn’s Sport Media and Public Relations class came up with ODU Athletics feature story ideas, then reported and wrote these pieces for a class assignment. The assignment was created to provide feature content for the ODUSports website, and offer students the real-world learning experience of writing a story for the ODUSports website.
By: Michael Nelson
For some athletes, a tough break is a figurative expression to describe a loss or bad call by an official. Unfortunately, some athletes experience the literal meaning of a tough break. Sadly, an Old Dominion men’s soccer player is one of those athletes who have become all too familiar with the literal meaning.
The Old Dominion men’s soccer program welcomed seven freshmen this fall to a team seeking to defend its 2014 Conference USA title. The freshman class was viewed strongly within the college soccer community, but there were a few marquee names that stood out above the rest.
Jimmy Filerman was atop that list. The Vienna, Virginia, native is a product of the heralded D.C. United Development Academy that has repeatedly bred high-quality college and professional soccer players. Filerman committed to Old Dominion, forgoing offers from powerhouse programs such as Penn State, Wake Forest and North Carolina.
Arriving in June with the other members of the 2015 freshman class, Filerman looked to make a solid first impression with his new teammates. After only a couple of weeks it was apparent that Filerman had made his mark early on.
“Having a player that can come in and immediately make a positive impact with the team allows us to take a step forward as a team,” said head coach Alan Dawson about the freshman defender.
Dawson was not alone in his excitement, as many of the returning players were also quite impressed. Filerman was confident in his abilities, and approached the upcoming season with an optimistic attitude.
“I didn’t expect to be a starter, but after conversations with Coach Dawson, I thought I could be one,” Filerman said. “Even if I wasn’t starting, I thought that I would get a lot of minutes.”
At the conclusion of the summer workouts, the excitement surrounding Filerman was continuing to elevate and it was inevitable that he was groomed for a successful freshman campaign.
As the inaugural practice for the 2015 season got underway, the young freshman was full of confidence and high expectations.
Then, everything went downhill in an instant. In a non-contact play, Filerman suffered a fifth metatarsal break in his right foot.
“All of the sudden I felt my foot shift in a weird way and it just felt like 100 needles going into my foot,” Filerman said.
Filerman immediately looked towards the team athletic trainer, knowing that he had broken his foot.
The devastating injury left the 18-year-old with a difficult decision. He could get surgery and redshirt his first year, or he could go through the rehab process and return to the team around the halfway point in the season. Filerman felt pressure from both sides of the decision, but, after being informed by a doctor that he was virtually certain to break his foot again if he did not go through with the surgery, Filerman elected redshirt.
After informing the team and coaching staff of his intentions, all of the hype and expectations surrounding the freshman were forced to be put on hold for a year.
“Jimmy’s injury was an unfortunate circumstance,” said Dawson. “But, we are fully behind him and expect him to bounce back next year.”
After the surgery, there was a shift in the perspective that Filerman took with his first year in college. In a way, there was a pressure that had been lifted. He was now able to relax and fully get accustomed to his team and life as a college student. The pressure of competing for a starting position and playing time had been alleviated. At the same time, it is difficult for him to observe from the sideline as his teammates prepare and play every day.
The anticipation will continue to build over the next year for Filerman to get his first crack at college soccer. He is optimistic about his future with the program and claims to have goals of pushing for All-Freshman accolades for the 2016 season.