CNS’ Christian Green rebuilt himself following shoulder ligament injury
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Christian Green thought his career was over. At least that’s what his father, Dennis Green, remembers.
The Cicero-North Syracuse running back was ecstatic entering a matchup against Liverpool last November. Green was ready to build off a 70-yard, three-touchdown game against Rome Free Academy the week prior. Then, on his first rushing attempt of the game, he suffered an acromioclavicular joint injury in his shoulder after being tackled from behind. He initially thought it was a stinger, but he quickly realized he was mistaken.
“When I started moving my arm, I could just feel it moving around inside of my shoulder,” Green said.
“He was devastated,” Dennis added.
The injury impacted every facet of Green’s life. He stayed home, playing video games to distract himself while taking care of his body less and less. Mentally, he lacked motivation. Physically, he gained weight and found himself far from playing shape. He knew he was in a bad spot.
But he also knew he couldn’t stay in that place forever. As the weeks passed, he realized how much his absence affected his team and the work he had to put in to return. And after a lengthy recovery process, the senior running back has returned to action for CNS, ranking second on the Northstars with 160 rushing yards through three games this season.
“I knew I had a job to do,” Green said. “Football has been my life since I was 3 or 4 years old.”
That mindset is familiar to the Green family. Green’s father and his two brothers all served in the Marines, so he grew up with a focus on discipline, toughness and finishing what he started.
“The way I was raised, I kind of try to instill that into my kids,” Dennis said.
For Green, that mentality extended beyond football. He said his father and two brothers taught him to stay fired up through rough challenges and hold himself to a high standard.
He’s got that blue-collar mentality about him. He’s gonna try to work the best he can to get it right.Jim Ryan, Cicero-North Syracuse head coach
That mindset became especially important after the injury. Green knew he had let go of the routines that helped him succeed, so he began rebuilding himself. He returned to physical therapy, regained strength in his shoulder and cleaned up his diet, determined to return.
Instead of allowing the injury to define him, he attacked his recovery with the same determination he displayed on the field, pushing himself physically while rehabbing his shoulder.
Dennis saw the change in his son as the weeks passed. Frustration turned into determination as Green committed himself to strengthening his shoulder and getting back into shape.
“He worked his butt off,” Dennis said. “He put a lot of work into strengthening that shoulder.”
For Green, the work was about more than simply getting healthy. He wanted to prove he could come back stronger. That approach was familiar to the CNS coaching staff, who saw Green’s work ethic develop throughout his time with the Northstars.
“He’s got that blue-collar mentality about him,” said Jim Ryan, Cicero-North Syracuse’s head coach. “He’s gonna try to work the best he can to get it right.”
Waiting for his shoulder to heal was just one part of the equation. Once Green was ready to use it again, he had to build back his strength and confidence after his time away from the sport.
The process was gradual. Green began putting in the necessary work in the weight room, getting stronger than ever to get his body back and better than ever before.
“I knew I had to get back into shape,” Green said. “I knew I had to get my weight down and get stronger.”
After 10 weeks of shoulder rehab, Green finally had the chance to do what he’d been working on since his injury: play football again.
The return didn’t erase the memory of the injury. But stepping back onto the field gave Green something he’d been missing since that first carry against Liverpool: a sense that football was his again.
But his goals extend far beyond himself. He’s eyeing something bigger.
“When it’s all done, I want all my brothers and me to be able to leave our last season playing football with a nice fat ring on our finger,” Green said.
