The562’s coverage of Millikan athletics in the 2023-24 school year is sponsored by Curtis Boyer.
Serious sports injuries can change lives, but they’re typically localized. A broken bone can be cast and isolated while healing.
Millikan goalkeeper Diego Ramirez’ serious sports injury wasn’t so simple. First, he had to stand up without falling.
“I had to relearn balance,” Ramirez said. “It was a lot of trying to stand on one foot… I couldn’t do anything.”
In the summer of 2022, Ramirez was starting a playoff game with his Slammers FC club team when a low cross came into the box. Without hesitation, and as he’d done so many times before, Ramirez instinctively dove forward for the ball while attackers and defenders were running past him towards goal.
“I remember seeing the ball caught in my hands and I was about to land on the ground and then it just went black,” he recalled.
One of his own defenders had accidentally clipped the side of Ramirez’ head with his knee on the way past, breaking bones in his jaw, ear and temple. Teammates and parents told Ramirez that he was out cold for about 10 seconds, and the resulting concussion changed his life forever.
“It was a lot of physical therapy but I enjoyed it because (at that time) I couldn’t move at all,” Ramirez said. “I couldn’t even walk my dog in the morning like I always would. But I didn’t want to give up. I just put in so much work and time (into soccer) and my parents had put in so much money and time and effort… I knew I would come back, I just didn’t know when.”
Now almost 19 months after his scary injury, Ramirez is the No. 1 goalkeeper for Millikan and he’ll be in goal today when the Rams host El Dorado at 5 p.m. in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.
“He dealt with something difficult and found a way to turn it into something positive,” Millikan coach Jeff Schofield said. “He’s more excited to be playing than he would be if he didn’t face that adversity.”
“I learned patience more than anything,” Ramirez said. “ Before I got hurt, my life was crazy with soccer. I would have practice every day, games on the weekend, training in my free time, doing homework after school before I went to practice, it was just super hectic and crazy. After I got hurt, it went from 100 miles per hour to zero. I was just sitting, icing my head all day, or sleeping. It really taught me to be patient. It taught me to go with the flow. I couldn’t rush my healing.”
Ramirez also couldn’t rush his love for being a goalkeeper because while growing up in Lakewood playing soccer with his friends all he wanted to do was play out in the field.
“I didn’t like it at first but over time it grew on me,” he said. “I enjoy it a lot now, more than I used to. Sometimes it feels like I’m not involved enough. I just wish I could contribute more… My favorite thing is the pressure. I love the pressure. I love the feeling of performing under pressure and showing everybody that I can handle it.”
That pressure he put on himself was ratcheted up as a junior when he tried to make his comeback just three months after the concussion while getting used to the protective helmet he still wears every game.
“I was super hesitant and I noticed it right away,” Ramirez said. “I would go for it and stop myself because I was just thinking about my injury and I didn’t want it to happen again. It was really hard to get used to going for those balls and get back into the flow of things.”
After choosing to sit out his junior year, that flow came back this season as Ramirez has been the anchor of a great Millikan defense that helped the Rams win a second consecutive Moore League title. Millikan has only allowed 16 goals in 22 games, and Ramirez only gave up two goals in the last six league games of the regular season.
“He makes saves that makes guys on the team go, “How did that happen, why did that not go in?’” Schofield said. “Kids the age take things for granted and I think when this occurred I think it kind of snapped him back to reality… He’s excited to be a big part of the team. It shows in his confidence he’s gained back.”
Ramirez’ 6’3” 180-pound frame obviously helps him fill space in the goal, especially against the many dangerous set pieces in the high school game, but he thinks working closely with his back line defenders Orlando Rost, Ivan Cervantes, Cody Ekblad and Connor Cummings has been the key to their success.
“It’s all about our communication,” Ramirez said. “You have to give good information fast enough for somebody to hear it and realize what you want them to do. You could yell and scream, but there’s a big difference between that and actually giving someone usual information. If they need to move, pass if they have a man on their shoulders… Useful information where they don’t have to look at you, but then they can act accordingly.”
Millikan is just one of five Moore League teams starting the CIF-SS playoffs today. READ MORE about the other matchups that are all on the road.
