Smackover’s Taylor Darden accomplished a lot athletically last year. She won her second straight 3A 8 tennis singles championship and was a member of the Lady Bucks’ state championship cheerleading team.
The only thing she wasn’t able to accomplish was finishing the year healthy.
For the second year in a row, a shoulder injury followed by surgery ended Darden’s softball season prematurely. The senior tested the shoulder out on Thursday in her season-opening tennis match, a 6-3 victory against Hampton.
“As of today, I'm not 100 percent yet but I'm consistently gaining back strength and mobility,” Darden said. “I would say I'm almost to a complete full recovery and I also just finished physical therapy. My rehab was amazing and I showed improvement every day and progressed quicker than I thought I was going to. I couldn’t thank my physical therapists enough because I wouldn’t be where I am without them.”
A righty, the injuries have happened to Darden’s left shoulder. Still, she’s had to make some adjustments in tennis.
“I did have to modify my backhand and serve. I’m not comfortable doing it and feel like I got it to where it works for me.”
Darden is a four-sport athlete in tennis, basketball, softball and cheer. She’s also usually active in the summer with camps and travel softball. That’s a lot of wear and tear.
“I’ve had many injuries since my freshman year with my shoulder by tearing and dislocating it. I’ve already had two surgeries on it, one my sophomore year and one my junior year,” she said. “My healthiest season in sports would probably be my freshman year.”
Darden hopes to get fully healed for the tennis season. She advanced to the second round of the 3A State Tournament in singles last year.
“I didn’t really get to play much tennis in the offseason because when one sport ends, I have to jump right into the next one. But I played a little here and there,” said Darden. “Going into the season, I'm pretty confident in myself even though I'm not 100 percent still. I’m an athlete who pushes myself hard and that’s what I plan to do.”
Darden has one year of high school remaining. She’d love to finish it upright and pain free. She’d also like to get things done on the court.
“My goal this season is to really stay healthy and to not have any injuries with my shoulder this year. I’m pushing myself to be better than I was last year,” she said. “I’m very excited for my senior year even though I don’t want my high school athletic career to end. Since it’s my senior year, I want to play harder and do better and end it with a bang.”
Darden plans to go into nursing school after graduation. Despite the injuries, she hasn’t ruled out competing at the next level.
“I’m still putting myself out there for athletics. I am just waiting to make the right decision for myself and my future.”