After the clock hits 2:35, junior Cameron Thiele is transformed out of her student focus and into an aspiring collegiate athlete. The road in athletics is often paved coarsely, and unfortunately for her she has hit a speed bump.
Thiele is a utility player for the softball team. March 2, marked the day of the devastating incident that would change the course of charter softball for the remainder of their season. Thiele faced a devastating injury midpracticed. “It happened at my travel practice. I was going for a deep and high ball in center field. I jumped up while feeling for the fence with my right hand and as I came down from jumping my left cleat got stuck in the bottom of the fence. That caused my knee to buckle outwards. That caused me to have cartilage displacement which I then had to get surgery on in the following week.” She regards it as, “One of the worst moments of my life.”
This roadblock majorly impacted the team and was devastating to head softball coach Mark Montimurro. “She's one of the most engaged athletes on the team; her absence was felt immediately,” he says. Her personality on the field was described in three words: “fabulous, coachable, and team-orientated.”
Despite the severity of the injury, Thiele will be going to her final checkup just by the end of this week. However, the initial speed bump led to a major detour in her athletic journey. Before the injury, Thiele had totaled [-] home runs during the season. By the time she was fully mobile, her ability to make a physical impression on college recruiters had been temporarily paused.
The timing was particularly cruel, as the injury sustained over the period of travel softball tryouts. Unable to perform, she lost her spot and is now trying to find her home for the 2026 travel season. “It’s hard having the uncertainty of not necessarily knowing where to go” Thiele says. “It's frustrating, but all I can do is wait until I’m healthy and be prepared to fight for my spot on whatever opportunity I get.”
The road to recovery has been anything but smooth pavement. Thiele has committed to physical therapy for months, rebuilding her knee strength and mobility. She has been in the gym everyday, not just to heal, but to elevate her performance.
"My goal in PT isn't just to fix my knee but to also make it stronger,” says Thiele. “I can’t wait until I can play again.”
Thiele's dedication off the field is showing in numbers. In the weight room, she's hit a new personal record of 115lbs in squatting and is inching back toward heavier leg workouts, when she is ready to play she plans to come back at her full potential.
Despite the fear of re-injury and the pressures of recruitment, Thiele still plans to play all three of her sports this year: softball, basketball, and bowling. For Thiele, the injury was less a stop sign and more a caution road sign, one she intends to drive right past on her way to becoming a collegiate athlete.
