22 SportsUnion | OCTOBER 19, 2018
Photos Provided By:
Edinboro University
college
Soccer
Athletes are used to doing things a certain way. Think of a power
pitcher in baseball. He is used to throwing plus 90s all the time -
that’s what he has done his entire life. Then an injury occurs and
now he has to get use to pitching different.
By Matt Ondesko Managing Editor
It could be a challenge at
time. Going from throw-
ing the hard stuff to now
mixing speeds and hitting
the corners. It’s a process.
A process that could take
time.
A speed burner in high
school, Edinboro’s Dan-
ielle Chatten has had to
relearn her game in col-
lege. After a serious knee
injury sidelined her after
just 11 game sin 2016, the
Niagara-Wheatfield High
School graduate had to
figure out what was going
to work for her again.
“Freshman year, I played
a game against Mercy-
hurst and she slide tack-
led me from the side and
torn my ACL and MCL,”
stated Chatten. “It took al-
most a year for me to play
normal again. Last year
was my most frustrating
season because I wasn’t
the player I was before
the injury. I was very tim-
id around the ball. I was a
lot slower. I couldn’t run
onto threw balls. I was
too scared to go full speed
thinking I was going to
get hurt again.”
It has been a process,
and one that has take
time. While her speed is
finally coming back, Chat-
ten made sure she learned
a few new tricks while to
keep defenders second
Need for
speed
guessing. She has learned
to play with her feet more
- something that she nev-
er had to do before.
In high school, Chatten
could easily use her speed
to get around the defend-
ers. She was the most tal-
ented player on the pitch
on most nights, and used
that talent to dominate
game when she had to.
In college it has been a
different story. Early on in
her career she would use
that speed. After the inju-
ry she had to learn a few
new tricks. She was the
power pitcher now learn-
ing how to paint the cor-
ners instead of throwing
97 all the time.
You could almost say af-
ter the injury she became
a complete player. She
learned to think more on
the pitch instead of just
using her athletic ability.
She has become that play-
er that frustrates the op-
posing team.
She has become some-
one that is hard to mark.
Opposing coaches now