A CHRONIC calf condition almost forced Merrinda Hill to walk away from the game she loved.
But three years later, after surgery and an extended recovery, the Irymple Knights soccer star this year led her club to a drought-breaking premiership and also took out Football Federation Sunraysia League (FFS) Senior Women’s best and fairest award.
It’s been an amazing — and painful — journey for Hill, who has reinvented her style of game.
Hill was diagnosed with Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome in 2018, a condition which gave her “intense pain”.
“It (was) affecting my everyday life,” recalled Hill, who was also travelling back and forth from America for study at the time.
“Walking, going upstairs – even going up a small incline. My calves would start throbbing.
“I decided to have the surgery because … being an athlete is who I am.”
In her first season back with Knights, Hill scored seven goals in eight appearances as the Knights became premiers after a seven-year drought. But with a lot of younger girls in the side, Hill had to change.
“I’ve never been the fastest or the fittest … so I adapted my way of playing,” she said.
Hill, who still experienced problems while playing this season, said she was able focus on watching the opposition and playing back from the ball so that she could cover more space. The tactic sometimes became a necessity.
“I noticed during the season there were times we were playing 10 or nine players and often it was in the midfield that we had to make up for it so sometimes I was marking two players,” she said.
Hill said she became more proactive in looking around the field as she received and gave off the ball, and developed her midfield skills by practising drills and watching footage of former Chelsea and current Real Madrid midfielder Eden Hazard.
“I’m no longer waiting for the ball to come to me. I’m thinking about steps two and three,” she said.
Although the off-season would bring more time strengthening her legs, Hill said she felt grateful for what she achieved, especially thanking her parents.
“They don’t know much about soccer but they have never pushed me,” she said. “They’ve just been supportive and encouraging knowing how much I love the game.”
