Liam Haycock Named a 2017 Co- Recipient of the John Smillie, Jr. Award
BRIDGEPORT, CT - Senior Dylan Cafarella (Albertson, N.Y.) of the LIU Post football team and Liam Haycock (Stafford, England) of the University of the District of Columbia men's soccer team have been named the 2017 recipients of the John Smillie, Jr. Award.
This award is given in honor of NYIT Athletic Trainer, John Smillie, Jr. who passed away two years after battling cancer. The John Smillie, Jr. Award is given annually to a student-athlete or student-athletes who have overcome personal or physical challenges and hardships to pursue their intercollegiate athlete careers. John Smillie's children were in attendance to present the awards.
Liam Haycock
Haycock is currently a junior defender on the men's soccer team. This past year he elected to play through his season while having bilateral hip pain.
In October, Liam learned that he had bilateral labral tears and severe osteoarthritis. In November, he received left hip labral repair, microfracture, femoraplasty and acetabuloplasty in an attempt to alleviate his pain. In January, he received the same surgery on his right hip.
Liam had to go through a left hip rehab program for eight weeks- from non-weight bearing, to crutches, to walking, and to single leg strength, to then have to start the entire process all over again with the right hip. UDC head athletic trainer Alison Hammer said about Liam, "I have never had a patient who was so cooperative with the rehab/treatment plan; who was completely compliant with the protocol and never showed disappointment with the slow progress."