Renae Schwarze thought her football career was over when she fractured her back playing for Melbourne University.
But instead of feeling sorry for herself and wondering what might have been, she worked her way back and returned to the field.
And on Sunday the 26-year-old celebrated her 100th game, a combination of 50 with Glenroy and 50 with Jacana.
But it wasn’t all good news on the day – Jacana suffered a shock 6.9 (45)-4.5 (29) loss to Roxburgh Park in the north-west division of the Victorian Women’s Football League.
Schwarze said she had played more than 100 games but had not been able to get the records of how many she played in two years with Melbourne University. So she chose Sunday’s match to celebrate the milestone.
“I played under-10 and under-12 at Glenroy and was the first girl to play 50 games for the club,” she said.
“After 12 I couldn’t play for a few years because girls couldn’t play on past under-12.
“I started playing again when I was 17.”
During her time with Melbourne University, Schwarze showed promise and was selected for Victoria. That was all cut short when she suffered what she thought was a career-ending back injury.
“I was tackled after disposing of the ball and was thrown onto my coccyx bone.
“It sent shivers through my whole body. I lost feeling in my left leg and had to learn to walk again.”
Schwarze was devastated at the thought of not playing again but was determined to get back on the field.
Despite many people telling her she was “crazy” and she shouldn’t play again, Schwarze turned her attention to her recovery.
More than two years later she was given the go-ahead by her surgeon and joined the newly formed Jacana side.
“My surgeon told me to act like a normal teenager and said go play sport,” Schwarze said.
“He said if more damage is to occur, it will happen anyway. It took a good two and half years to get back to playing. I’m not at the level I used to be, but it’s a lot more fun.”
Schwarze has passed on her knowledge to other players at the club, as a coach and an assistant coach.
She has decided this year will be her last as a player and she hopes to go out with a finals series. Jacana is currently fourth on the ladder.
“I’m going to play out the season and hope to have success and get into finals,” Schwarze said. “We’ve never had this chance before…we used to get thrashed by more than 100 points every week.”
