His senior poster depicts a tall, blonde haired boy holding a basketball off to one side of his body. Under it, the name reads in a bold black typeface. It hangs with the rest of the soon-to-be graduating senior class of 2019. To the outsider, it looks normal, but if you take a deeper look, you’ll find that the boy hanging high in the gym didn’t get the opportunity to face the court his senior year. All because of an injury that could’ve been devastating.

From once polished gym floors to cracked concrete, Christian Honthy has always found a way back to the hoop.

Honthy tore his ACL during the 2017-2018 season after a rocky landing to a jump. It took awhile for him to recuperate fully. “ I went through a lot of physical therapy with weights and squats, stuff like that just learning to be able to walk and then eventually be able to run and jump again.”

Last season’s injury was not the first he had sustained. Honthy previously tore the meniscus in his left knee. In addition to that he has broken both of his ankles.  

His passion for basketball stems from a childhood love, a growing pastime that followed him into adulthood. Having competed since the third grade, Christian contributes his initial fascination with the sport to his father, Joe, who is an elementary level gym teacher.

Being benched his senior year brought up a mix of feelings for Honthy.

“ It was very frustrating not to be able to do anything and have to watch your teammates play, but it was also fun cheering them on.”

Having to factor in the people who were involved, it wasn’t just Christian who felt the weight of his leave.

“I think it affected the team because he wasn’t able to physically be there, but there were a few positives because he was good on the side lines in the sense that he always cheered us on, and he had a positive attitude toward all of us. He was a good teammate.” says former teammate.

Though the young athlete had been able to face the burden of his injury fairly well, there were still times when he felt the heaviness that surrounded the injury. “Many times I was scared. I would stay up late at night because I was  thinking about my future and stuff, and about whether or not I will be able to be able to play. It affected everything. It even affects college opportunities, so yeah it was very scary at times.”