ACL injuries are one of the most common sports injuries for athletes, and one of the most emotional experiences someone will go through. There are a lot of psychological impacts caused by the loss of a routine, passion for the sport, distance from your teammates, and physical pain due to the injury. There are different physical stages of recovering from an ACL reconstruction surgery that causes there to be different emotional stages as well. This subject is essential to me because I have experienced this emotional and physical roller coaster, which makes me want to understand why this happens and how to help athletes understand the process that they or their friends are going through. In order to fully understand how strong the emotional impact is for ACL injuries, it is important to compare it to something that most people know about: concussions. Athletes know a lot more about concussions than ACL injuries due to how common they are and how well known the symptoms are. A study conducted by Mainwaring tested the emotional response of athletes that had a concussion and then athletes that had an anterior cruciate ligament injury and compared the data. Mainwaring reported that athletes with a concussion had lower levels of depression for a smaller amount of time than athletes that have an ACL injury. They also compared the results from these two groups to the results from a control group. This showed that the athletes with ACL injuries only had a major change in depression, while the athletes with a concussion had a change in their total mood disturbance. This study gives evidence that ACL injuries cause more severe psychological impacts to the athlete than a brain injury. Most athletes are educated on the side effects of concussions but not ACL injuries; this data shows how important it is to not only learn the physical changes an athlete will experience but to learn the emotional changes they experience are normal and expected. Based on my own experience, I was very unaware as to why I was feeling sad and if it was normal for other athletes. My trainers and doctors only talked about the physical challenges but not mental. ADD CONCLUSION The stages of recovery of an athlete recovering from ACL reconstructive surgery is marked at two weeks, two months, six months, and nine months post-operation. I noticed that I would be more sad, and I would feel physically weaker than normal at my two weeks and two months mark, so I wanted to see how the different stages actually impact the athlete's psychology and physicality. I found an experiment that tested the emotional response after injury and surgery for athletes that tore their ACL and how it affects the physical response. They tested the participants throughout their six months of recovery after their surgery. The data is measured by the emotional and cognitive functions and the physical recovery of the participant. The physical recovery is measured by the range of motion, the level of recovery that the physician reports, and if they can return to sport. Morrey concluded that there are important times that significantly impact the mood disturbance and the recovery rate for competitive athletes. The most significant times were two weeks and then two months post-operation. The main conclusion from this data is that athletes should learn more about this process and possibly get counseling in order to have a more positive outcome mentally and physically. They are the most mentally challenging times for an athlete, and it affects how well they progress physically. If athletes stay motivated and positive, they are more likely to progress more physically. This study is extremely important because it shows the psychology of an athlete can severely impact physical recovery. Now that I understand how the psychology of an athlete is impacted, I started to wonder what can actually be done to help athletes; if it is an understanding of what will happen, the acceptance of what's happening, or staying positive or focusing on physical progress. This caused me to research different ways athletes cope with injuries. A study done by Preece researches the benefits of online medical support groups since doctors can not give a lot of emotional support to their patients. His study discusses how these groups are more helpful for patients because they are able to talk to people who are going through the same thing or are a little further in recovery. This allows patients to ask questions about what's next and describe how they are truly feeling. As I went through this process, I realized that the main thing keeping me motivated was when I discussed my progress with my trainer. My trainer tore his ACL 5 years ago, so he tells me what he experienced and that what I was going through physically and emotionally is normal. The data from Preece's research shows that athletes who join groups or talk to someone else who is in recovery help them reflect on their own emotions and the progress they have made as well as help other athletes in recovery. At the hardest stages of my recovery, and most people recovering from ACL surgery, the only thing that reassured me is that my experience is normal and everything is progressing how it should be. There are many different ways athletes cope with an injury, and some show a better outcome than others. A study conducted by Carson looked at behavioral avoidance coping and cognitive avoidance coping with athletes that are recovering from ACL injuries. I was surprised by the results of the study because it suggested that the coping avoidance strategies help with short term emotional states for the athletes and possibly long term benefits. For me, it was the most helpful to motivate myself and accept what has happened rather than avoiding how I really felt. This study is interesting to me because I feel like this is an unhealthy way to help your mentality after surgery, but it is actually somewhat productive. There are many different ways an athlete's psychology is altered during recovery, but an important aspect of this is what happens to an athlete once they are fully recovered and can go back to play. Is an athletes mentality the same as it was before getting injured or is it impacted by the whole process they just went through? As I went through this process, family members and doctors would tell me about athletes that have made a full recovery after tearing both of their ACLs. his made me wonder what the different reasons for reinjuring your knee are. The actual psychological factors when an athlete is at the return to play stage is very hard to measure because everyone will be physically capable of playing, but an athlete might subconsciously or mentally not be ready. In order to be fully ready to return to play, the athlete has to be comfortable and confident with the strength and stability with ACLR. Confidence is the key to making a fully successful recovery This deeper understanding of the psychology of athletes facing a recovery from an ACL surgery that I now have makes me more content with the emotions I have felt during this process. I have less fear about getting re-injured and I am more confident in my leg. This shows me that understanding and learning about the psychological changes or phases an athlete will go through can really help in the long run. Although everyone is different and expresses their feelings in various ways, I think that surgeons or physical therapists should recommend seeing a sports psychologist or learn about what they will experience.