My Journey

If you know anything about Texas, the summers are scorching hot. While most kids spent the hot afternoons inside the house, you could always find me playing outside. When I wasn’t swimming, shooting basketball hoops or kicking a ball in my backyard, my eyes were glued to the television watching sports. As a multi-sport athlete, my fascination with sports continued from childhood and has never stopped.

At age 7, soccer was my first sport. My Saturday mornings consisted of running at the park and kicking soccer balls with my family. I started playing on an all-girls team but transitioned to an all-boys team, coached by my dad. In middle school, I was introduced to volleyball, basketball, track, cross country and tennis, and continued competing in high school.

Of all the sports, the assumption many had was that I’d play college soccer — given that was the sport I played the longest. College soccer scouts spotted me during the end of my sophomore year. And while I was happy to receive soccer letters of interest, I developed an increased passion for the fast-paced tempo of volleyball. It didn’t take long for me to switch from club soccer to club volleyball. 

Once the volleyball college offers started coming through, I thought I was set. But things took a turn during my sophomore and junior years of high school, playing volleyball and soccer. I sustained injuries every season that kept me out, including many lower leg muscle strains, ankle injuries and multiple concussions. It was the recurring knee injuries that made me hesitant about college volleyball. At that point, I wasn’t sure if I would even play a sport in college. 

As my senior year rolled around, the talk in high school was about what colleges people would be attending. While everyone assumed, I would attend a big college, I had no idea where I’d go. I revisited the soccer offers I received my sophomore year. I was overwhelmed and crunched for time and none of the college offers excited me. I had offers from Division 1 schools, but I worried that my body wouldn’t hold up for the demands. My final decision was to attend Georgia Perimeter College to play soccer. I never envisioned staying in Atlanta to attend a two-year college, but after some time, I felt a sense of relief in my decision, as I didn’t want to commit to any school and have regrets later. On the bright side, I thought playing one sport in college would hopefully solve my injury issues.

However, new and old injuries continued, and once again I was back in my room praying and trying to find strength to start the rehab process again. One rainy day, I was sitting on the sideline when my college coach said, “Taiwo, there are a lot of colleges calling for you.” I wondered why a college would sign an injured athlete, although I had decent statistics as a forward. In a span of two months, I was at a new college — the University of Missouri.

New college, better yet – new state. I thought injuries surely were a thing from the past, but they weren’t. My time in Missouri was filled with daily visits to the training room rehabbing. 

In the middle of my junior year, I changed my major to physical therapy, knowing firsthand the impact injuries have on athletes. I also found myself reflecting on the many coaches I encountered growing up who would always tell me you could make a good career playing soccer, so soccer after college was still in the back of my mind.

After college, I gave professional soccer a shot. Despite my uncertainty, I knew taking this route I would have no regrets. In a few months, I received an offer in Sweden.

Unfortunately, I sustained a hip injury that put me out for several weeks. The rehab process (I was oh too familiar with), began again. When I returned mid-season, I re-injured the same hip and sat out for the remainder of the season. 

During my downtime, I observed a sports physical therapist in the area, who helped me realize my passion was more than sports. With my love for people, past injuries, and fascination for the human body, I wanted a future involving both physical therapy and sports. 

Months later, I was back in the states starting physical therapy school at the University of Missouri.

Thanks to my past injury experiences, I am living out my ultimate dream, helping others recover from injuries while staying involved with sports.