Kylie Ohlmiller: ‘I Don’t Think My Story is Done Yet’

Kylie Ohlmiller is known for a few things. There was her not-remotely-Gatsby upbringing in the town of Islip (N.Y.), an hour yet a world away from Long Island’s Gold Coast destinations like Manhasset. Then, she had a meteoric rise from unheralded recruit to Tewaaraton Award finalist at Stony Brook to U.S. national team gold medalist. And lest we forget — could we ever? — the highlight-reel behind-the-back goals that made her a fixture on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”

But before the no-look, nothing-but-net goals, Ohlmiller often busts into a familiar move: A signature inside roll. She starts from X, hangs up her defender and cuts. She’s done it a million times. But an inside roll in the World Lacrosse World Championship semifinal game against Australia was atypical. That time, the sequence wasn’t punctuated with the familiar post-goal stick drop. Instead, Ohlmiller heard two pops and fell to the ground. Unfamiliar, but all too familiar.

“I knew immediately, being around lacrosse players all the time and my sister tearing her ACL twice,” Ohlmiller said. “One night you’re feeling yourself and in your groove playing for the U.S., and all of a sudden, you’re on the floor like, ‘Why?’”

The other thing you need to know about Ohlmiller is that, despite her flashy style of play, she’s as quick to credit her teammates as she is to get creative with her shots. And she’s no different with how she describes the immediate aftermath of her injury or recovery.

“The second I looked up, I had five teammates surrounding me, taking my goggles off, making sure I was alright,” Ohlmiller said.

Ohlmiller has replayed the moment repeatedly — not just in her head, but literally replaying the clip. She’s watched the video of her injury monthly during recovery. Ohlmiller has only watched the broadcast portion, and she doesn’t slow down the play. She doesn’t focus much on what happened to her. She focuses on her teammates.

“You immediately see the cameras pan to the sideline full of U.S. players getting emotional because they have also done it,” Ohlmiller said. “I think of Lizzie Colson. I think of Sam Apuzzo. I think of Molly Hendricks. All these players who had this same injury and knew exactly how I was feeling at that moment. …  I watched the video back [and understood] I wasn’t alone, even when I felt super alone during the process. It picked me up from some dark places.”

Something else that kept her going: A scrapbook that her U.S. teammates put together for her between the semifinal game and championship bout with rival Canada. It included a handwritten note from every member of the team. It still sits on her coffee table.

“They were going after a world championship and practiced for five years, too,” Ohlmiller said. “They didn’t have to do that. I’m super grateful to be surrounded by women like that.”

But Ohlmiller didn’t get to be surrounded by many of the same women, like Charlotte North and Apuzzo, a couple of weeks later when everyone moved in for the second season of Athletes Unlimited at USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md. Unable to have surgery for six weeks because she had to let her MCL heal on its own, Ohlmiller found herself in an unfamiliar spot: On her couch. It would be understandable if she turned on something — anything — other than lacrosse. But that’s not how Ohlmiller rolls.

“I definitely watched as many games as I could,” Ohlmiller said. “I just wanted to see my friends succeed. I also just love lacrosse. I’m always watching PLL, AU, anything I can watch. I was watching it. Obviously, I was upset not being there, but I knew I had a journey of my own.”

It’s a journey Ohlmiller’s longest-term teammate knows well. Her younger sister, Taryn, tore her ACL in the 2018 NCAA tournament with Stony Brook and played on a torn one in 2021. She got motivation from a quote she found early in her recovery: “Grow through what we go through,” a line she quickly passed on to her big sister.

“Immediately when she was with me in the training room, she was like, ‘Alright, sister. We grow through what we go through,’” Ohlmiller said.

Vision board material aside, Ohlmiller found herself looking up to her little sister during some of the hardest moments of her career.

“She has been a sounding board,” Ohlmiller said. “Anyone who has gone through this knows there are little wins and steppingstones. … She was awesome in the sense that over family dinners, I could be like, ‘Is it supposed to be like this?’ She’s an inspiration and my best friend.’”

But those little wins sometimes get glossed over when discussing ACL tears. There’s a reason. Taryn Ohlmiller, Sam Apuzzo, Lizzie Colson, and now Kylie Ohlmiller are four of the thousands of female athletes who have come back from a torn ACL over the years. The injury is so common that making a return seems like a given. But the process is hard. It took Ohlmiller a year. And it can feel lonely, especially when rehabbing as a professional without college classes to attend or on-campus lunches with friends.

“I don’t think the process is anything easy,” Ohlmiller said. “It’s not for the faint of heart, and it’s not for people who have any doubts about whether they want to come back or not.”

Ohlmiller’s comeback was never in question.

“I don’t think my story is done yet,” Ohlmiller said. “I don’t know what the ending of it looks like or the end of my career looks like. I don’t have a five-year plan. I knew it wasn’t how I wanted to close the page.”

Those moments on the ground at the World Lacrosse Women’s Championship are in her rearview mirror. So are the moments she didn’t get to have during the 2022 AU season because of her injury. But that doesn’t mean Ohlmiller doesn’t glance at them from time to time.

“I thought about [the last year] a lot driving down [to USA Lacrosse for the Athletes Unlimited season],” Ohlmiller said. “I was thinking about where I was a year ago when everyone was moving into AU, the Kylie sitting on the couch. It’s just cool to be able to be at that point and at the place I wanted to be at this time last year.”

But Ohlmiller is arriving to play in AU as a different version of herself. She gained a new perspective — not just from watching more lacrosse than she played, but from taking time to reflect.

“Sometimes, you take advantage of it even when you don’t mean to,” Ohlmiller said. “I think I was getting to a place like that last summer. I needed to wake up and realize the privilege I’ve had to be able to play at the highest level and call this my job. I’ve taken a step back and refocused on how much it means to me and how much it means to pick up my stick every day.”

Maybe that’s her why. Regardless, Ohlmiller plans to take the five-week season one step at a time. A cliché that’s anything for someone who struggled to walk 365 days ago. But that doesn’t mean you won’t see her famous competitive streak. It just won’t be for leaderboard glory.

“There is a competitive edge when it comes to the ACL process,” Ohlmiller said. “I’m going to extend my knee a little farther today. I am going to test this out without fear. I am going to use my left leg or good leg first. I want to bring the competitive edge within myself and ultimately just enjoy the little moments with people around me being back on the field.”