COURTNEY SMITH: Tough love ... of the game

[PonyPride]

Soccer obviously is [deleted] players' feet, between the estimated 6-8 miles players run in every game and the impact of striking the ball. Because of that, it's no surprise that many consider SMU defender Courtney Smith one of the toughest athletes on campus, after she earned all-conference honors in 2012 while playing the entire season on a broken foot and refusing to miss any games after dislocating a shoulder. Smith visited with PonyFans.com to discuss how she played through her injuries, and her road to recovery for her senior season.

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Full story: Tough love ... of the game

[horsemanx]

Wow. What an amazing story!

It makes you feel kind of weak about those days where you whine about a sore back or neck.

I can't even imagine playing soccer on a broken foot. I don't think I've ever even heard of such a thing.

I hope Courtney has a great senior season. Thanks for your dedication to SMU!

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Thanks PP for this story that needed to be told. It's good to hear Courtney is close to being back to full strength. I hope she has a full recovery and a great 2013 season (and beyond).

It really was amazing to see how well she played last season with the foot injury, and I, like most SMU fans, probably figured the shoulder injury would shut her down for at least a little bit but I guess we should know better by now. That next weekend was the big win over UCF too.

Smith finished 20th in NCAA Division I in assists playing on a broken foot. Think about that one for a while.

Thanks again for a great and inspirational story that will hopefully be read by many more than just the visitors to the other sports board on ponyfans.

[HorsePower]

Pretty incredible story. She sounds like a hockey player.

[BleedingRed+Blue]

Dang!

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

After seeing Courtney playing some minutes in a non-defender role - for the first time in who knows how long - and still looking like the best player on the field, the CP quote about Smith having a potential future in the NWSL really doesn't seem far-fetched at all.

She definitely deserves a chance at the next level, whether it be in the US or abroad. Hopefully, she will turn some heads with a huge 2013. After what she sacrificed for SMU in 2012, she certainly deserves it.