UNM soccer player Michael Reed regularly finds himself shin deep in buckets of ice and wrapped up from knee to hip.
He said trainers and teammates make fun of him, but that's OK.
Reed is just happy to be here.
Reed, a sophomore, earned himself a starting position as a midfielder for the Lobos right out of high school but tore his meniscus before the 2006 season started.
"We had finished our first exhibition game with Fort Lewis. It was actually at our Lobo Camp," he said. "I was cut down in my prime by a little kid."
Reed said he is no stranger to injury, and he regularly finds himself in UNM's athletic training room - but things could be worse, considering the severity of the injury.
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As a freshman, Reed said he had to work harder to be a part of the team after hurting his knee.
"That was a lot tougher because you gain a lot of respect from your teammates by being there and playing. Being there counts a lot," he said. "I had to make it easier for the coaches in any way I could, like get the water. I shagged balls. I tried to take their mind off of it anyway I could."
But Reed's coach, Jeremy Fishbein, said that despite a devastating beginning, he is optimistic for Reed and the coming season.
"He was out the whole year. He didn't play," he said. "It was pretty disappointing, mainly to Michael. The kid was looking forward to playing college soccer and wasn't able to. He was disappointed, but he worked hard to recover as quickly as he could, and that was the approach he had to his recovery."
Reed said he felt pressure as an athlete from New Mexico to perform well and represent the city he grew up in. But that all changed after his injury.
"For UNM soccer, they had such a wider opportunity to get better players from out of state," he said. "I think there was a big buildup because it is such a prestigious program, and I definitely felt like I had the support of the city, but after the injury, there wasn't so much pressure."
Reed said that as he recovered, the pressure became something he used to get his spot on the team back.
"At first, I was scared, but then it gave me a chance - a new opportunity to take a different outlook on soccer," he said. "I was more of a rushed guy, and I realized I'd have to put extra hours into it. I think the main thing for me was what I had to do to get my spot back, because I got it, and I had it, and I kind of gave it away."
As a midfielder, it's Reed's job to support the offense and the defense. But teammate Simon Ejdemyr said Reed plays his position on and off the field.
"Even when he was injured, I think he contributed a lot just by being team-first," he said. "Even when he was injured, he was really supportive. I think he had a really big influence on the team even though he was injured."
Reed lives in a house with four of his teammates and attributes their support, along with the rest of his team, to his recovery, he said.
"They were always positive with me, and not only is that going to help with your play, but it helped me recover from my injury," he said.
