- November 20, 2024
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Carson Kato’s junior season ended before it started.
Flagler Palm Coast’s strong safety felt like he hyperextended his knee when he was hit after the play was over early in the kickoff classic at Atlantic Coast last year. The next time Kato got back on the field, he tried to elude a blocker and he heard a pop. His knee gave out.
“I couldn’t put any weight on it after that,” he said.
A month later, on Sept. 14, 2023, Kato underwent ACL surgery.
“My junior year was gone. So definitely, that’s not what anybody wants,” Kato said.
It would be nine months before he’d get back on the field.
“It was really unfortunate,” FPC coach Daniel Fish said. “I know it was devastating for him, and it hurt our team as well. He was our long snapper and one of our best defensive backs.”
For the casual observer, it may look like Kato hasn't missed a beat in his return this season. He is fifth on the team in tackles with 45 after seven games. He’s had four tackles for a loss, a sack, an interception with a 25-yard return and a fumble recovery.
“He’s our long snapper for field goals and punts and he hasn’t had a bad snap all year,” Fish said. “He's on every special team. He’s one our best tacklers, and he does a good job dropping back in coverage and reading the quarterback. He’s had a great senior year, a great bounce-back season.”
While it may look like he hasn’t missed a beat, that’s far from the truth, Kato said.
“It’s a very long process,” he said. “I would say I put in a lot of work behind the scenes, and not everybody sees what you're doing.”
The process started on day 1, a month before the surgery with range of motion exercises.
“That way, after surgery it's not as hard to regain the motion because whenever you have surgery, your leg just stiffens up. It basically shuts down your whole leg. You still kind of walk on it, but it hurts for sure,” he said.
A month after surgery, he started walking without crutches. The next step was strengthening his knee with leg extensions. Four months after surgery, he began jogging again. At six months, he was able to sprint and jump, gradually working on cutting and more explosive movements.
Early summer, he started doing drills on his own with a brace on his leg. In mid-June he was cleared to return to football activities. But he still had to gain his full strength and his confidence back.
“It’s more of a mindset kind of thing,” he said.
By the kickoff classic, one year since tearing his ACL, he let loose, trusting that his knee was healed.
Fish and Kato are kindred spirits. They are from the same area of Georgia — Kato is from Alpharetta, Fish from Gwinnett County. They both gravitated to the defensive side of the football.
“We’re cut from the same cloth,” Fish said. “Up there, we love to hit. We both have that mentality.”
Knowing how much work it has taken to get back on the field has made his senior season even more special for Kato, he said. Now he’s ready for the final stretch — three more regular-season games beginning with a district showdown with Spruce Creek at home on Friday, Oct. 25. And then, if all goes well, a playoff run.
“It's definitely kind of setting in that this is my last year and I got three more guaranteed games now,” he said. “I’m hoping for the playoffs, but you never know what's going to happen. So I’m just trying to make the most of it. And enjoy it.”
