SPORTS

'Passion' drives Newman player's recovery

Doctors said Newman Catholic junior lineman would never play football again. He proved them wrong.

Tim Johnson
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Nate Brill works on drill during a recent football practice at Newman Catholic High School.

WAUSAU — Both of Nate Brill's knees are protected by a brace that stretches from about mid-thigh to lower leg, and there is a six-inch scar on his left knee that serves a visible reminder of a surgery and what he went through in the past year to get the opportunity to play the sport that he loves.

The Newman Catholic junior, a center for the Cardinals, has been told that his knees have the type of wear typically found in someone more than three times his age. Last fall he was told his football career was over and advised that his future strenuous physical activity might be limited to swimming rather than anything that required further strain on his legs.

But on Thursday, Brill will line up on both the offensive and defensive line in the Cardinals' final game of the regular season against Greenwood/Granton.

"He is a tough kid. There is no question about that," Newman Catholic football coach Paul Michlig said. "To have him run out on the field for the first game of the season against Thorp was special to see as a coach, just all the effort he put in to get back on that field."

How tough is Brill? He was born with a congenital bone developmental disorder called Trevor disease that affects both his knees. Basically, the groove in his femur that accommodates the kneecap is shallow, making it difficult kneecap to stay in alignment. Throughout last season as a sophomore, he would take ibuprofen and place ice bags on his joints for a few hours after each game to deal with the discomfort. Due to the arthritis, his knees would swell to nearly twice their size during the games and practices.

He experienced a different level of pain during the final drive against Greenwood/Granton in the last game of the 2014 season. A defensive lineman rolled into his left knee while Brill was pass blocking. Individuals who have Trevor disease are more prone to having a kneecap dislocate, and that is what happened on the play.

Brill got up from the hit and stayed in the game, not wanting to walk off the field. He even played in the Cardinals' loss in to Almond-Bancroft in a WIAA Division 1, Level 1 playoff game the following week, knowing he was going to need surgery in the off-season.

"Basically the leg exploded," Michlig said of the injury. "But somehow he kept playing."

The loss to Almond-Bancroft ended the Cardinals' season, and the initial medical prognosis for Brill was it would likely be the end of his playing career. Brill and his family sought a second and third opinion, which finally resulted a referral to the University of Wisconsin Sports Medicine Clinic in Madison.

"(Football) isn't the most important thing in the world," Brill said, "but it kind of hits you like a ton of bricks, having someone tell you that you can't do something that you love to do again."

Brill underwent a two-and-a-half hour surgery at the end of January. The tibial tubercle osteotomy which changed the alignment and stabilized his left kneecap. He was on crutches for 10 weeks recovering from the procedure, which had included the cutting of leg bones and the reattachment of ligaments.

"I was basically recovering from a broken leg," said Brill, who tore the meniscus in his left knee in eighth grade. .

Brill was cleared to return to football in July less than a month before the first prep football practice of the season in Wisconsin.

His mother, Colette, admits to having some initial concerns to her son returning to the sport.

"As a mom, I am down on (the sidelines) taking pictures because I have to do something to keep myself busy. I do get physically ill before the games," she said. "I know he is stronger than he was last year, and he has worked hard to be where he is and do what he is doing. But, as a mom, it is still very difficult.

"We did have that discussion (before the season) about him playing," she said. "It came down to his passion that he had (for football)."

Brill said he is aware that he could injure his left knee again, or his right knee could be dislocated. He is aware that he could have issues with his knees later in life. Still, he has his reasons for deciding to play,

"People want to think in the now and nobody really wants to think ahead," Brill said. "I did consider where I am going to be in the future. I'm probably not going on to play college football, but I didn't really have plans of doing that anyway. I wanted to play high school (football). There's nothing like it. It is hard to describe what that feeling is like running out onto the field on a Friday night."

Tim Johnson can be reached at 715-845-0731 or at timothy.johnson@gannettwisconsin.com. Find him on Twitter @timmyjo11.