Chelsey Goldberg | USA

“Have you ever faced so much adversity that you just wanted to stop or quit whatever it is that you were doing? Maybe it was a job that you hated, or even a sport that you grew exhausted, distant, or burnt out from?

My name is Chelsey Goldberg, and I attended Northeastern University and was given the opportunity to play Division 1 College hockey for four years. While it was the best decision I ever made, I will be the first to tell you that it was not easy.

Before this chapter of my life I played hockey at North American Hockey Academy in Stowe, Vermont for two years. This was an awesome experience and I was able to play hockey at an elite level to prepare me for college. However, the unexpected and adventurous journey began here. Around January of junior year I broke my right fibula during a game. After a long six-month recovery I was cleared to play. Senior year comes around and this time, almost a year to the date, in early February, I ironically break my left fibula during competition. Fortunately, I had committed early enough to Northeastern and my coach honored my scholarship.

Again, I worked as hard as I could to recover and become even stronger, better, and faster than I was before. August of 2011 I arrive on the Boston campus and was more excited than I ever have been to begin a new phase of my life. After much training I felt so ready to start playing college hockey. A few months go by and I begin to feel weak, tired, and uncertain of what my body was going through. Sure enough I got diagnosed with mono in November. So, I missed the rest of the season and was not cleared to play again until summer time. What happened? Well I trained harder than ever and was ready for my sophomore year. Unfortunately I had played three games over the limit to redshirt, so was not able to get that year back.

Sophomore year comes around and I notice that my fibula, which I happened to get five screws and a plate put into, started to act up every time I skated. My team doctor ran some images and informed me that I needed to remove the hardware as soon as possible. The hardware comes out and for the fourth year in a row I am battling another recovery. “Why are you still playing? Why have you not quit yet? Aren’t you exhausted?” These were questions that I was getting asked almost everyday, and I’m not going to lie, they definitely crossed through my mind as well. But, again I recovered and was ready to go. Sophomore season gets washed out, and I get the clear to play my junior and senior year at Northeastern University.

My first game back I scored two short-handed goals and helped the team to a weekend sweep over RIT. Like I said this journey was no doubt the hardest time in my life, but I never gave up and am now playing professional hockey for the Boston Blades, in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League. My message to everyone remains, just when you think you have had enough or you can’t keep going, you still have enough and you absolutely CAN keep going. DO NOT ever give up, and make it a goal to prove people wrong. My positive attitude and my will to get even stronger, faster, and better than I was before definitely helped me persevere through the adversity that I faced for four years in a row. Like I said, it was not easy, but if I could take anything back and do it all over again, I would change nothing. The hardships that I faced during this chapter of my life made me into the strong and positive woman that I am today.” – Chelsey Goldberg | Boston Blades | CWHL