Dy: Mother and athlete overcomes injury

By Anthony Morales |Staff Writer|

Eliza Dy, 23-year-old alumni point guard at CSUSB, has made a major comeback by scoring a career-high of 30 points against Cal Poly Pomona after recovering from ACL surgery.

Despite the injury that occurred seven months ago while practicing, she’s back and determined to overcome and play ball harder than ever before.

“It’s a big accomplishment after coming off ACL surgery,” said Dy.

Taking time off to heal her injury has caused Dy to miss conditioning season, which included training in the summer, hitting the gym and improving her game. Coming back early into the game has motivated her to push and compete harder to be on the same level as her teammates.

“It took a good amount of my time waiting for the injury and stitches to heal,” said Dy. “The injury motivates me now that I am on the floor and able to play. It motivates me to work harder than everbody else, I want to be first in every line drill and make every shot.”

However, returning early from surgery can either make or break her.

“Taking pride in my work ethic makes me want to do a lot more, which can be a good or bad thing,” said Dy.

“The fact that I am coming back early and if I push myself too hard I can re-injure it.”

Along with her injury beng a cause of motivation, her one-year old daughter Nyla is another driving force that keeps Dy working hard for her goals. Nyla tags along with her mother to basketball practice watching from the sidelines being her number one fan.

“My daughter makes me want to be a better player and I want her to be proud of her mother,” said Dy. “I want to be that positive role model for her.”

With a triumphant career achievement comes along a busy hectic schedule that requires time management.

Not only is she entering her second year in the Master’s Program for Rehabilitation Counseling but she is also completing an internship at the Department of Rehabilitation in San Bernardino.

Her day begins in the morning with internship hours, lunch, spending some time with her daughter, preparing for practice, and ending it with night classes.

She is pursuing her master’s to become a rehabilitation counselor to focus on helping individuals with disabilities and hopes to take it into the sports realm working with professional athletes.

“I want to help individuals find themselves with a complete understanding of what they want to do in their lives,” said Dy.

Conquering all the challenges faced this season so far Dy looks at her basketball season as a learning process and this experience has made her appreciate the diversity of the sport.

“The diversity and understanding of different background and different people is what I want to take with me as something I can use in my future,” said Dy.

”Learning from others and meeting others I feel like that’s what helped me become the individual I am from basketball. Communication, hard work and dedication has made me want to go out and help people by putting it effective in my life.”