Johnson’s Senior Year Derailed


Ali Johnson, a Rogers Heritage senior, sits at the scorers table during the War Eagles’ game against Rogers High on Tuesday at Rogers Heritage High School. After receiving a fourth concussion (three from playing soccer and one from basketball practice in the Spring), Johnson has not been medically released to play on the basketball team this season due to lingering symptoms.

Ali Johnson, a Rogers Heritage senior, sits at the scorers table during the War Eagles’ game against Rogers High on Tuesday at Rogers Heritage High School. After receiving a fourth concussion (three from playing soccer and one from basketball practice in the Spring), Johnson has not been medically released to play on the basketball team this season due to lingering symptoms.

Friday, January 25, 2013

— Ali Johnson couldn’t wait for her senior year to begin in August.

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Ali Johnson

School: Rogers Heritage

Class: Senior

Height: 5-8

Notable: Played in 26 of 28 games and started four games for Rogers Heritage’s basketball team a year ago. ... Started for the Lady War Eagles soccer team, which advanced to the Class 7A state semifinals last season.

The Rogers Heritage senior looked forward to playing a bigger role for the Lady War Eagles basketball team and also helping the soccer team make a push as a state title contender.

All that came to a halt late in the fall when Johnson had her feet taken out from under her while playing for the NWA Lightning club soccer team at a tournament in Birmingham, Ala.

Johnson came crashing to the ground on her head and briefly was knocked unconscious. She was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with her fourth concussion since her freshman year.

Johnson hasn’t participated in an athletic event of any kind since that day.

“I still have no memory of what happened,” Johnson said.

Her parents weren’t present at the tournament in Birmingham, which produced plenty of tense moments, said Gary Johnson, Ali’s father. But he was relieved to get to talk to her on the phone a couple hours after the incident.

“She knew where she was and who I was, so I knew she was good,” he said. “It was a pretty major deal.”

Johnson said she suffered with severe headaches and fatigue for the next couple of weeks. She didn’t attend school for the week after in the incident, but then gradually got back to her normal routine.

Johnson still hasn’t been medically released to participate in athletics and lost a chance at a scholarship to play soccer at John Brown University next season. Instead, she’s been reduced to cheering on her Lady War Eagles’ basketball teammates from the bench, which has been difficult at times.

“It’s hard because I’ve been playing sports since kindergarten,” Johnson said. “I worked my way up and was finally getting to start some games the end of my junior year and worked hard in the summer. Then I had my injury and it knocked me back.

“It’s really hard. I yearn to work out. I was dreading Sunday practices before, but now I want them.”

Heritage coach Kevin Ramey said Johnson was in his team’s plans for this season after seeing plenty of playing time as a junior.

“She had really dedicated herself to get better over the summer, and her improvement was tremendous,” Ramey said. “It was really a tremendous loss for us.”

One of Johnson’s concussions came in an offseason basketball practice, and Ramey acknowledged the play didn’t look particularly dangerous.

“Anything above the neck, now we’re extra cautious,” Ramey said. “Honestly, Ali’s play I wouldn’t say when I saw it was a major thing. Ali went diving on the floor for a loose ball and another player fell on top of her, and Ali hit her head on the floor.

“You see all these plays in the NFL, where their head snaps back. But we’re finding out now it doesn’t have to be a severe hit or action.”

Johnson returns to the neurologist later this month and is hopeful of being released for athletic activity.

She still holds out hope of playing soccer for the Lady War Eagles in the spring. But she hasn’t been medically released yet, and Gary Johnson said it hasn’t been determined whether his daughter will play.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” her father said. “I think she’s handled the situation pretty well.”