Retraining the body and the mind: Lauren Flynn’s injury recovery journey
By Elle Crossley
It’s 9:30 a.m. at the Zions Bank Real Academy in Herriman. The building echoes with the rhythmic beat of soccer balls passing back and forth as players for the Utah Royals FC warm up for their preseason practice. The team roster always looks a little different at the beginning of each season, but one well-known face is missing from the field – 22-year-old defender Lauren Flynn.
Better known by the team and fans as “Lo Flo,” Flynn’s training is unique from the rest of the girls. Instead of the pitch, she’s spending her hours in physical therapy recovering from last year’s season-ending injury.Every day, Flynn said she works to get back on the turf, but the journey has proven itself a challenge beyond the physical aspects.
“I was not prepared for the mental toll it would take,” she said.
Almost half of injured athletes struggle with their mental health as a result, according to research published in Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation. As Flynn gets a start in the 2025 season, that number is more than a statistic – it’s her reality. Following two phases of surgery this fall, she’s had to navigate this unseen side of recovery. For many athletes, returning to the field post-injury takes work beyond the physical body. It also requires strengthening in the mind.
Flynn joined the Royals as a defender in 2024 after playing with Florida State University for four years. Her success in the professional league came quickly as halfway through the player’s rookie season, she led the team in combined tackles and interceptions. In week ten, the National Women’s Soccer League recognized her sportsmanship for the Impact Save of the Week. But through these highs came an unexpected turn.
Flynn said she started experiencing intense calf pain in May and as the weeks went on, she hit a point she said she couldn’t push through. In August 2024, doctors diagnosed her with bilateral compartment syndrome in her lower legs, which placed her on the season-ending injury list. When decreasing her workload didn’t ease the pain, Flynn said she learned surgery was the next step.
“I was thinking about how hard [others have] had to work to come back, how long it is,” she said. “And so I think that to me was very daunting. I didn't have any experience with it. I was just scared, honestly, and I was also sad.”
A 2015 study published in the Journal of Athletic Training found sport-related injuries can have a significant psychological influence on athletes. But the sporting world treats injury as a taboo, according to Jon Osborn, owner of Utah Sport Psych, so people don’t think about the less visible side of the healing process.
“Athletes [and] coaches don't like talking … about injuries, right?” said Osborn, who hasn’t worked with Flynn or other Royals players. “I think athletes are under-prepared for it to happen because we don't want to talk about it.”
Clay Frost is another mental coach for athletes. He also hasn’t worked with Flynn but said many of the athletes he trains, from high school to the pros, have expressed her same uncertainties. They aren’t prepared, he said, for the mental barriers brought up in recovery until they’re in the thick of it for themselves.
“An injury will introduce way more obstacles and unknowns than almost anything else will,” Frost said. “It puts everything that you thought was controllable into an uncontrollable state.”
For Flynn, that challenge came with an unpredictable timeline. At the start of her rehab, she said she set a specific date when she wanted to be back playing to her full capabilities. But she added the arbitrary deadline ended up being a disservice.
“And that was just, kind of feeling a lot of anxiety, because I was like, ‘ok, well, if I have any setbacks, then what does that mean?’” she said.
Flynn said navigating a life without soccer was hard since it’s always been her greatest passion. When it’s going well, she said, she generally feels happier and more positive, and losing her main outlet came with an emotional cost.
Osborn said this experience is one of the biggest challenges that comes up in recovery, especially at the professional level, when the sport becomes a part of an athlete’s identity.
“This is a fort that you have built over 18 years that in the matter of days, weeks, months, is under attack and sometimes destroyed – this idea that I am an athlete,” he added.
But just as athletes retrain their bodies, they can also retrain their minds. Frost said it starts with trusting the process and focusing on the few steps they can take one day at a time. With this mindset, he added, it’s easier to recognize and celebrate every small victory along the way.
“Confidence is having an undeniable stack of evidence that what you've been doing is helpful,” he said. “And [that] is just a way to count all of those things.”
Flynn can attest to the difference that makes. Giving herself credit for her progress has served as a reminder of her own strength and will power, especially when times get tough, she said.
“Some days are hard to come to practice when you want to be in it so badly,” she said. “I think those are the days you really just have to … trust the process and believe if I work as hard as I can every day, I will get back there.”
Osborn said he’s seen athletes who have overcome injury thrive by applying the skills they learned in recovery to their play. That’s been true for Flynn, who said her journey has reignited her passion for every part of the game. The unexpected challenges made for unexpected growth, reminding her of the power of positivity and making her a better player and teammate, she added.
“Physically, I'm like, ‘okay, great. Things are looking much better,’” Flynn said. “But also mentally, it’s like, ‘okay. This is the progress that I've been waiting to see.’”
Taking things one day at a time, she said, has shown her growth in her own game and her team. Between the lessons she's learned and the progress she's made, Flynn emphasized her optimism for the future.
“It's been a roller coaster of a year, but I'm really excited for this [season],” she said. “The environment is just really positive. It's really intense and energetic.”