?Courage is fear holding on a minute longer,? General George Patton once said. Although intended to giving inspiration words to his soldiers before 300-mile march headed for certain death, he encouraged humanity to not let fear control their lives.

Fear often stands in the way of living, controlling one?s potential for life. There are only two ways of dealing with fear: one, let fear stand in the way of what they love, or two, give up a passion.

On such example of dealing with fear occurred when senior Greg Kilgore collided with an opponent taking a hit to the back of his knee. While he scored a touchdown on the play, diving into the end zone during the third week of football season, his season was finished.

Due to the collision, he required surgery and months of physical therapy in order return to his world of sports.

?It did not feel like anything was wrong after I was hit,? Kilgore said. ?So I went back in and got hit and my leg got caught under me. I stayed out for the rest of the game.?

A visit to the doctor shortly after revealed a MRI was needed. The results seemed inaccurate so he decided to seek a second opinion and took another MRI.

?When I got the news it was really discouraging,? Kilgore said. ?I had a torn ACL but the doctor was really encouraging to me and said I could do this and get through this fine. I remember about a week before surgery I was praying in my living room, just telling God that I would go through this to glorify him.?

Kilgore had surgery on Oct. 19. Prior to the operation he needed to wait three hours instead of the 30 minutes as scheduled. Similar to most patients who prepare for surgery, he developed nervousness for the upcoming operation.

?It was really scary laying there, not knowing what was going to happen,? Kilgore said. ?When I woke from surgery I remember feeling a terrible pain in my left leg.?

Attempting to walk the day after surgery seemed useless. Kilgore was unable to self-escort himself down the hall because of the pain. Medication seemed to be only form of relief; this was obviously not a long-term solution, which lead him to physical therapy over a period of three months with three sessions a week.

?To tell you the truth it was not fun at all,? Kilgore said. ?But one thing I remember about physical therapy is they told me to do four sets of 25 but I would always do 4 of 35. My doctor was amazed at what I was willing to do to rehab.?

While he was strengthening his knee, football season finished, along another season of athletics. Yet the possibility of playing with the baseball team laid heavy on Kilgore?s mind. This influenced his decision to work harder than necessary in physical therapy.

The only thing that stood in the way of Kilgore?s playing time was the doctor?s permission his own determination.

?I hated not being able to play,? Kilgore said. ?I was so excited when I got the news from the doctor that I was good to go. But in the first baseball game I played in, I was kind of scared to play. But early in the game I took a ground ball that bounced right of my knee and I realized that I was okay, so that gave me confidence.?

Although Kilgore was excited to play, his enthusiasm began to rise when Jon Hall, baseball coach, gave him the opportunity to pitch in the upcoming game against Liberty Madera-Ranchos on April 25.

While standing on the mound preparing to pitch, Kilgore was left with a decision to put anxieties behind him and continue to do what he loves or let fear of another injury delay his season.

?Right before I was about to pitch I started shaking, not because I was scared but because I was able to do something I loved again,? Kilgore said. ?It represented all the hard things that I had to go through were starting to be over. When I got out there to pitch, I remember praying and asking God to help me and I did pretty good for my first time.?

This game did not only lead to more pitching opportunities, but an athlete living his passion of life without fear. Kilgore now plans on returning next football season to continue his position as quarterback stronger than before.