There are moments in sport that completely change an athlete’s path. For Manyika Reyes (Many), that moment came during her first season with the Dinos in 2022. While charging in on a ball in the outfield during a game in Lethbridge, Many dove to make a play and immediately knew something was wrong. “I can still vividly relive the moment,” she said. “I went crashing down on the field after hearing my knee pop while making what should have been a routine ‘do-or-die’ in the outfield.”
What initially felt like a typical injury quickly became something much more serious. After weeks of swelling and uncertainty, doctors confirmed she had torn her ACL along with additional damage in her knee. The injury forced her to miss the remainder of her rookie season and all of her second year while going through surgery and recovery. “Honestly, sport is all I’ve ever known,” Many said. “It didn’t really feel like I had a choice but to get better.”
The process, however, was far from easy. Away from home for the first time and separated from the game she loved, Many found herself struggling mentally as much as physically during recovery. Still, rehab eventually became something that grounded her and gave her purpose.
When she returned to the field in 2024, she quickly realized that recovery was about much more than simply being medically cleared to play again. “Recovering from this injury wasn’t just about learning how to run again, but also about learning how to trust myself again,” she said. Instead of getting discouraged, Many committed herself fully to the process. Throughout the summer leading into the 2025 season, she spent countless hours training after work and rebuilding both physically and mentally.
“The more reps I got, the more confidence came back,” she said. “Slowly, I began to trust my body again. Going into the 2025 season it finally felt like my brain, heart, and body were all on the same page.” And that work paid off in a huge way.
In 2025, Many stepped into a major leadership role for the Dinos as both a starter and team co-captain. Alongside her on-field performance, she also became heavily involved in organizing team fitness sessions, helping shape workouts with an emphasis on purpose, energy, and athlete buy-in. “When people enjoy what they’re doing and feel a sense of individual purpose, they buy into it more, and that energy carries into the rest of the team environment,” she said.
Coach Victoria Kehler credits her growth and leadership as a major part of the team’s culture this season. “Many worked incredibly hard to come back from injury not just to the same level as before, but to the next level of her abilities,” her coach said. “She became a starter and a team captain after stepping up huge over the winter training.”
One of the defining moments of her season came during a sequence that perfectly captured how far she had come. After robbing a home run with a highlight-reel catch in the outfield, Many stepped up to the plate later in the inning and launched the first over-the-fence home run of her career. “When I connected with the ball and realized it was gone, I was immensely ecstatic,” she said. “Running over to home plate and seeing all the girls waiting for me, cheering, jumping, and celebrating together, will be a picture I hold forever.”
Now studying kinesiology, Many says her recovery journey completely changed the way she views athlete development and support systems in sport. “Going through a long rehabilitation process definitely changed the way I view training and athlete development,” she said. “It gave me a much deeper appreciation for how complex a recovery can be and how multifaceted performance really is.” She also gained a new understanding of the mental side of recovery and the importance of supporting athletes beyond what happens physically. “Recovering from injury leads to moments of frustration, doubt, and uncertainty,” she said, “and those mental challenges can be just as difficult or even more so than the physical ones.”
After everything she went through, Many’s story is no longer just about coming back from an injury. It’s about resilience and the work it takes to rebuild confidence in yourself one day at a time.
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