Perthes Pals

Yes, you CAN play soccer again

Courtesy of The Ball State Daily News

SOCCER: First-year coach knows how to beat the odds
Craig Roberts succeeds on field after overcoming childhood disease

By Conor Hockett

Craig Roberts didn't doubt his team's chances when Ball State soccer was picked to finish last in the Mid-American Conference this season. He embraced the Cardinals' underdog role. He's beaten tough odds all his life.

At age 5, Roberts was diagnosed with perthes, a disorder that causes hip bones to break down and regrow with weakness or deformity. Today's medical advancements have increased recovery chances for perthes' patients, but the prospects were dim when Roberts was a child.

Doctors put casts and a brace on Roberts' legs. He wore them for five years and was told he would never play sports.

"It was really a choice to be upset and feel sorry for yourself or do something about it," Roberts said. "Nobody is going to give you any breaks, so you have to do it yourself. It was one of those ‘you can't do it' situations, so you want to go out there and prove them wrong."

After the casts were removed, Roberts relearned how to walk. He made a list in his head of all the things he wanted to achieve, things no one said he could do. He was determined to live his childhood passion of playing and coaching soccer.

It took him a year and a half of vigorous physical therapy, but he made it onto the soccer field.

He participated in national school boy tryouts before competing at semi-professional and professional levels in England for four different teams. Roberts went on to be a four-year starter and captain for Park University in Missouri.

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There's Snowboarding after Perthes

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Survivor of Perthes now a World Champion

Here's an uplifting story about a Perthes Disease survivor.  He had surgery when he was 7 but still went on to become a world champion in martial arts.  He's now 18. 
Click here to read the story.