{"id":29679,"date":"2014-12-03T20:02:12","date_gmt":"2014-12-04T01:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=29679"},"modified":"2014-12-04T11:11:53","modified_gmt":"2014-12-04T16:11:53","slug":"davies-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=29679","title":{"rendered":"Davies Strong"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>

Photo credit: Chris Aduama\/aduamaphotography.com<\/p><\/div>\n

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. \u2013 If you\u2019ve ever wondered how Charlie Davies has kept his head up after years of setbacks and struggles since the 2009 car accident that could’ve killed him, he\u2019ll tell you that he\u2019s never really had any other choice.<\/p>\n

In a revealing press conference ahead of Sunday\u2019s MLS Cup final, the 28-year-old Revolution striker spoke candidly about how he developed his\u00a0unfailingly positive\u00a0attitude, which he traced back to\u00a0a less-than-ideal childhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always had to be the father, the mother, and the brother in my family growing up due to my mother having mental illness, and my father struggling with drug addiction,\u201d Davies said. \u201cI\u2019ve always had to keep everything to myself, and learn how to deal with it, and try to be a positive figure for my brother, and my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a heavy burden to bear for the Manchester, N.H. native. But in an odd sense, it helped prepare him for what would be the most trying period of his adult life.<\/p>\n

In fall of 2009, Davies coming off an impressive Confederations Cup tournament in which he played a leading role in the United States\u2019 improbable run to the final. He showcased a remarkable blend of speed, savvy and technical ability, and was being touted as a lock for the World Cup roster in 2010.<\/p>\n

But in the blink of an eye, it was gone. The expectations, the hopes, and the dreams all vanished when the SUV he was riding in during the early-morning of October 13, 2009 slammed into a guardrail\u00a0along the\u00a0George Washington Memorial Parkway in\u00a0Virginia,\u00a0shearing the vehicle in half. A fellow passenger died at the scene, while Davies broke numerous bones and was hospitalized for weeks.<\/p>\n

His recovery was trying both physically and mentally. Nothing came easy. But with the support of his then-girlfriend, Nina, Davies was able to make a full recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully, I have the most amazing wife who has stood by me from Day 1,\u201d Davies said, \u201cespecially through the time in the hospital where she was \u2013 I think the nurses were more worried about her than me \u2013 she was there night through day.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Nina wasn\u2019t the only one who rallied by Davies\u2019 side in the days, months and years since the accident.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also have extremely great friends, a lot of whom are still playing today, who were instrumental in my recovery process,\u201d Davies said. \u201cThey\u2019ve all given me that positive reinforcement that I needed occasionally, and I had amazing people to help me get through the rehab process.\u201d<\/p>\n

After battling through a tough childhood and enduring a rough welcome to adulthood, some wondered aloud whether he needed professional help to overcome the psychological scars.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always been talked about \u2013 do I need to talk to a therapist?\u201d Davies said. \u201cAnd I feel like, every day, I\u2019m talking to a therapist because it was always brought up, the accident. Eventually, it was talked about so much that it kind of served as a release for me, because I was able to express my feelings, and how I felt about it, and I was able to then let it go.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the trials and tribulations Davies has endured would make some bitter, if not outright angry, at the world, the Revolution striker has instead allowed those experiences to fortify his resolve.<\/p>\n

\u201cMentally, I think I\u2019ve always been strong,\u201d Davies said. \u201cBut I\u2019ve always had great support, so I think I\u2019m the strongest I\u2019ve ever been, mentally, and I think it\u2019s important that I\u2019m always trying to pass that along to my teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, when the Revolution were in the midst of an eight-game losing streak earlier this year, it was fitting that they rallied behind Davies, who overcame early season calf and leg injuries before finally cracking the lineup in July.<\/p>\n

He hopes that he can be an inspiration to those around him, and at the same time, serve as a reminder of how fleeting even the happiest moments can be, especially with Sunday\u2019s championship tilt on tap.<\/p>\n

\u201cI make sure that the guys in the locker room realize how special this occasion is,\u201d Davies said, \u201cand how lucky we are to play, and (not) take it for granted. It\u2019s been a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Charlie Davies spoke on Wednesday about how personal turmoil has shaped his positive approach both on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Charlie-3.png?fit=496%2C258&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29679"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29679"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29688,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29679\/revisions\/29688"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}