Miriam Athay

Horizon High School junior and flag football wide receiver, safety and quarterback Miriam Athay currently has 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for the season. The Lady Hawks currently remain undefeated with a season record of 6-0.

Talk to us about your years as a flag football player.

I haven’t really played flag. I play more tackle football, so it’s kind of hard to differentiate the two, but I’ve played football my entire life.

Why flag football?

Football, it’s just a huge thing in my family, so I like to carry on the “thing” because it makes my mom happy to to watch us play. I like playing football a lot, and I feel I am really good at it.

What do you love most about flag football as a sport?

I think making new friends and playing my heart out.

What has flag football taught you not only on the field but also outside of it?

Don’t get cocky. You can be really good, but it is one play (that) can mess you up and mess up the whole game. And, it’s made me realize that not everything is easy.

Do you have a favorite drill to do at practice?

Pulling flags; it tests your agility in pulling. There can be many broken fingers that can happen pulling flags.

What do you think makes you a unique player on the football field?

I’m not tall, but I would say my height. … Just my background I guess (too, I’ve been) playing football my entire life.

How do you believe you instill leadership in your team?

Just making sure everyone is paying attention and not disrespecting coach (Ethan Mankoff) and actually trying to get better because if you are out there not to learn, then there is no reason to be there.

Do you have a favorite NFL player? And team?

Not really, I just watch to watch. I would say maybe Peyton Manning. When he played, he was top tier and his stats were amazing, and I could only hope to try to be like him.

What’s your favorite thing about the Hawks’ flag football team?

Definitely playing with my girl friend (Kylie Will), playing with my team and having a lot of fun.

What’s your favorite hobby?

Working out or hanging out with my family or my girlfriend.

What are three things you would take with you to a deserted island? My girlfriend, food and a football.

What’s your favorite movie?

“Mamma Mia!” I like the second one because of the songs because they are a little different than the first one, but without Donna in it, it’s not the same.

THE BASICS

Age: 17

Sport: Flag football, soccer

Position: Wide receiver, safety, quarterback

Grade: 11 School: Horizon

What TV series are you watching right now?

“Dance Moms,” it’s so good. If you have a Hulu account, I definitely recommend watching it.

What’s your favorite type of music?

Alternative or pop or rap.

Do you have anything you’d like to listen to before a game?

Yes, I have a pre-game hype playlist.

Who’s your favorite superhero?

Why?

Spiderman. I just love him; it’s an unhealthy obsession. With Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire, they both have strengths for different sides of Peter. And then Tom Holland is the best of all of them.

If you could have a superpower, what would it be and why?

Super strength. I feel like it’d be fun to be stronger than everyone else.

What are three places you’d like to visit? Why?

I like to travel around the world.

I like Aruba, I like Cancun, and obviously anywhere I can play flag would be a good place to go.

Which one would you choose: Instagram, BeReal or TikTok?

TikTok because there are so many things to watch.

If you could go back in time to a specific period of history, what would it be and why?

I think going back in time to the times that I regret the most, … (although) I wouldn’t want to change anything. So I would go back but then I wouldn’t go back.

What color would you say represents your personality?

I’d say blue; it’s my favorite color.

If you could be an animal for a day, which one

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Knee Repair

In order to help Friedman get back in shape, Dr. Daryl Osbahr performed a Trochleoplasty — a surgical correction of the femoral trochlea to help restore a normal entry of the patella into the groove during extension and flexion of the knee — earlier this year. Friedman had a couple more procedures on her left knee: a Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction, which is a surgery that creates a new medial patellofemoral ligament to help stabilize the knee and protect the joint; a lateral reticular release and reconstruction to help relieve pressure in the joint.

This type of procedure is uncommon and has been done in the United States only for the last five to 10 years. Nowadays, there are only 10 to 15 surgeons in the U.S. that are able to perform the surgery.

Before deciding to undergo the procedure, Friedman had attended

Acl Injury

An Anterior Cruciate

Ligament injury is the tear or sprain of the anterior cruciate ligament, which is a strong band of tissue that helps connect the femur with the tibia. This type of injury can mostly occur in sports that require sudden stops or changes in direction. When an ACL injury happens, the athlete can hear a “pop” sound or feel a “popping” sensation in the knee, making it sweat and feel unstable. Depending on the severity of the tear, treatment of an ACL injury may require rest and rehabilitation exercises or surgery followed by rehabilitation.

Shallow Groove In Knee

If a knee has an uneven groove or is too shallow, the kneecap could potentially slide off, which could cause a partial or complete dislocation, as the kneecap helps connect the muscles in the front of the thigh to the tibia and as the leg is bended or straightened, the kneecap is pulled up or down depending on the motion.

physical therapy three or four times to see if her knee would finally heal.

“I had tried that over and over and it didn’t get better,” she said.

“It didn’t fix it, I tried the different braces, I tried the different taping methods and basically nothing helped. … (The doctor) basically said if I wanted to play softball again or wanted to be able to walk normally or function like a normal human, I had to do (the surgery).”

However, despite the surgery fixing the dislocation of the knee and the sliding of the kneecap — as the procedure literally dug out a whole new groove for Friedman’s kneecap to sit on —because of it being so rare and uncommon among athletes, there is no certainty that Friedman will be able to play softball in the future but, she already has been attending physical therapy at Rothman Orthopaedic Institute in Orlando.

“I’m going two times a week and it mostly consists of breaking the scar tissue in my knee and bending the knee, doing curls, riding a bike,” she said. “There’s like an electro machine that (my physical therapist) uses to activate my quads. … I’ve been doing the motion of a squat, it’s just not very deep, and then I also have exercises that I’m