Towards the end of last year's soccer season, the Bridgeport Indians Soccer Team was steaming into the state playoffs like a locomotive with only one loss and two ties to blemish their record. Then, a couple of games before the start of the postseason, one of the two leading scorers on the team, Grayson Church, suffered a season-ending knee injury and put their hopes for a state title in doubt.
 
With much credit to the coaches and players, they were able to overcome the blow of losing one of their leaders and still accomplish the goal of winning the school's first state championship. When I asked Grayson about sitting on the sidelines as the team went through the playoffs to the title last year, he said, "It was definitely hard watching, but I was so proud of them it didn't really affect me. Seeing the boys work together and them saying afterward they did it for me, that felt good.
 
Grayson Church was left with all-state accolades (First Team All-State and Region II Player of the Year) for his efforts in '25, but had a long uphill rehab battle to get back on the field for the '26 season. He said, "Everyone says it is harder mentally, but I thought it was harder physically, because my parents helped me so well with the mental aspect and I talked to a bunch of people that had torn their ACL".
 
About the physical recovery, it took six months to get back to being able to play. Grayson said about the rehab, "A lot of it (recovery) was PT and training, I worked with Wes Brown (Gorilla Strength), and he helped me a lot, and my PT was wonderful, Lawren Sandy (Bridgeport Physical Therapy)… I was working every day".
 
He continues to wear a knee brace; it was prescribed by his surgeon for the first year out of surgery. About the brace, he said, "going into it, the first few weeks I thought this thing is going to suck, and I'm not going to be back even to where I was; I even debated whether to wear it or not. But I got used to it, and I don't think it limits me much at all". Due to all the intense strength training in the off-season he had to complete to get back on the field, he thinks he is better and stronger than where he was last year before the injury.
 
The soccer team is undefeated, 12-0, and ranked #1 in the state by MaxPreps so far this year. Church and fellow senior, Riel Figueroa, make for a devastating scoring combination that every opponent must have a plan for slowing down. About the team, Grayson said, "We're playing really well. At the beginning of the season our chemistry was kind of low but throughout the season we are possessing the ball more, we are switching the ball more, and our chemistry is up. We know what runs we can make, and I think the team is playing really well".
 
Church's next comment, "If we don't win the championship, it will be a failed season," should be a warning to all AAA teams in the state. A healthy Grayson Church and a talent-laden team are coming for a second consecutive state championship.



DOUG MARQUETTE IS A GUEST BLOGGER AND MEMBER OF THE ALL SPORTS BOOSTERS BOARD.