Supporting a teammate through injury

With a busy hockey schedule, it’s sometimes hard to balance other
activities. That’s why Fraser Valley Rush defender Jade Lore was extra
excited to be able to play in a high school basketball tournament in
December 2021.

“I hadn’t been able to go to many games because of hockey,” Lore says. “I
got dressed, I didn’t actually think my basketball coach would put me in,
but she did, so I played.”

Unfortunately, as the then-16-year-old was running down the court, she tore
her ACL and meniscus in her right knee—an injury that would ultimately
sideline her for over 10 months.

“It was really hard,” Lore says. “I took it pretty rough because I went
from playing hockey every day, practicing it, to all of a sudden not doing
it at all.”

What made matters harder for Lore was her team was having a fantastic
season in the British Columbia Elite Hockey League (BCEHL), eventually
winning the Pacific Region title to qualify for the Esso Cup, Canada’s
Women’s U18 National Club Championship, for the first time in eight years.

Although it could have been easy to stay at home and be withdrawn during
the season, the Richmond, B.C., native stayed with the Rush every step of
the way. She watched each practice, joined the team at games and even
travelled for tournaments, like the 2022 Esso Cup in Okotoks, Alta.

“The whole experience for me was both an amazing opportunity that I’m super
grateful for, but also a very tough one at the same time,” Lore explains.
“It was always hard having to watch my team play on such a big stage. I
would always want to be out there with them, but obviously I couldn’t. I
just tried to be on the sidelines helping them in any way that I could,
cheering them on.”

While Lore was supporting the Rush while they were on the ice, her
teammates were there for her off the ice.

“My team is less like a team and more like a family. They are all my
sisters,” Lore says. “They were always checking in on me, […] they always
reminded me that I was still a part of the team even though I was off the
ice. That really helped me. I think that they helped me in a bigger way
than I helped them.”

That support was shown to Lore in a variety of ways. Her teammates would
help her navigate when Lore was on crutches. If Lore was doing homework on
the…