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Hayden Rebounds From Broken Leg
Swimmer Zach Hayden snapped his left femur during a recruiting visit to the University of Texas on Oct. 7, but he has recovered enough to compete in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle in the state championships.
(Jonathan Ernst - The Post)
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He was swimming about every other day when he began to feel a painful pinch near his left kneecap while kicking in the water. It was caused by his weakened leg muscles, so he stopped swimming and concentrated on his physical therapy. It was around this time that Hayden told Stonewall Jackson Coach Chris Draper he worried about not being offered a scholarship by one of his top choices.
Hearing of Hayden's anxiety "broke my heart," Draper said.
NCAA regulations prohibit coaches from commenting publicly on potential recruits. Through a sports department spokesman, Virginia Coach Mark Bernardino declined to respond to general questions about recruiting an injured swimmer. Texas Coach Eddie Reese did not return a message.
Hayden resumed swimming regularly without pain in his knee around Christmas, and his outlook has improved as his recovery has progressed.
"It was sketchy at first," Hayden said, "but when it started to come around, it felt pretty good."
Hayden's training target has been the Junior National Championships club meet, scheduled for March 21-25. He hopes he will prove himself healthy and capable of swimming the times he swam before the injury. But because Hayden's leg has, until recently, been too weak to perform the specialized kick required for the breaststroke, he has shifted his focus to freestyle.
That change could ultimately improve Hayden's scholarship chances. Not only does he enter today's state meet a top contender for the 50 and 100 freestyle titles, he has proved his versatility.
"Whether he reaches that [pre-injury] level remains to be seen," Morgan said. "If I were to guess, he's going to be a real attractive spring sign. The coaches are going to have to go kind of on a mix of what they see and what they see as a promise of better things to come."
