The Moment Everything changed: why i started stay in the huddle

I still remember the exact moment everything changed.

One second I was running down the field like I’d done thousands of times before — and the next, I knew something was wrong. Not the kind of wrong where you just shake it off, but the kind that feels like the world slows down, and you instantly know life is about to look different.

People tell you about recovery like it’s a timeline: “X weeks until you’re back” or “Just rehab and you’ll be fine.” But no one tells you that the hardest part isn’t your knee or your shoulder or your ankle —it’s your identity.  When you go from being “the athlete” to “the injured one,” people treat you differently. Your routine is gone. Your position is filled by someone else. Your team moves forward — and you feel stuck behind.  Suddenly you’re cheering on the sideline instead of playing. You’re in physical therapy instead of training. You go home tired, but not from competing — from trying to hold it together.

And honestly… it gets lonely.  It’s not that people don’t care. It’s that most people don’t know how it feels.

You stop hearing “We need you” and start hearing “Let us know when you’re cleared.”

But during injury is when you actually need your people the most. Not after you’re “back.” Not when the brace is off. Now!

That’s why I started Stay in the Huddle. Because injury shouldn’t mean isolation and your role on the team shouldn’t disappear when your playing time does. An athlete is still an athlete, even when they can’t suit up. 

The mission is simple: to make sure no athlete ever has to feel alone in recovery. 

Stay in the Huddle exists so the athlete who’s hurting physically and mentally still feels seen, supported, and part of the team — not forgotten on the sideline.

If you’re reading this and you’re in the middle of your own comeback: You’re not behind. You’re not less than. You’re not “done.” You are still becoming and this is just a different part of your story. 

And you don’t have to go through it alone. I’ve been there, and I’ll stay in the huddle with you.

- Olivia Speakes