Imagine it’s the first game of your senior football season and in the first half on a routine play you break your leg, putting an end to your season and high school football playing career.
For Kysen Niblett, this nightmare became a reality on August 29 in Levelland’s season opener at Dalhart, where he broke his fibula and tore three ligaments in his leg.
“It was just a regular play. I went to stop the pile and then they landed on my leg when I was down there, I felt it pop,” Kysen Niblett said. “But then after, I got up, and I didn’t look at it yet. I felt it, but it didn’t hurt as bad. Then when I looked down, I saw it was in two different directions and that’s when it started to hit me. I really didn’t know what to do after that, I was just scared at that point. Right after I looked at it, that’s when it started to hurt pretty bad.”
When he says it was in two different directions, he means his foot and the rest of his leg, in what was a gruesome injury.
Immediately after it happened, Kysen was put into an ambulance and taken to a hospital in Dalhart, where they put him to sleep and moved his foot from dislocation back to its correct alignment with his leg.
Following that, he was sent back home to Levelland, where he and his family arrived at 2:30am and they didn’t get to bed until 6am.
A week later, Kysen had surgery to repair his leg, which was about two weeks ago from current time.
Kysen’s recovery time is expected to be about two months and there’s no firm timeline, but once his cast is off, he will begin rehabbing.
Sadly, there is no chance of a return this season, which has been difficult not only for Kysen, but also his grandmother Celeste Niblett.
“It’s very tough because he worked extra hard this past summer. I mean I was doubting him for a little bit. He’d say, ‘I’m going to Coach Leong’s to get the key, we’re going to practice.’ And I’m like, it’s 9pm. He said, ‘Yeah, Mamaw, it’s hot,’ Kysen said. ‘He comes by every night, I promise you grandma, I’ll let you know,’ Coach Leong said. So, he worked extra hard because he wanted them to see him for college,” Celeste said. “It was very hard on me. I’d wake up and my tears were just going. I cried a lot, but I’m looking at it differently because God has another plan for Kysen. Maybe he can coach because he coaches kids very well. I look at every day and say we’re going to get through this and he’s going to do just fine. We’ve just got a bump in the road.”
While Kysen may not be able to make an impact for the Lobos as a player this season, he’s still making a huge impact as a teammate and an aid to the coaches.
He still attends every practice and game and goes out as a team captain for each game’s coin toss.
Many players would’ve checked out after the injury, but not Kysen.
“If I can’t be on the field for my teammates to ask me if they don’t know what to do, they can just look on the sidelines and I’ll be there anyways,” Kysen said. “I’m really just trying to do what I can to still be a part of this team. I help with offense and defense, I really know the playbook on offense, and I know what we’re supposed to be doing on defense, so really, I’m just trying to help out.”
Offensively, he’s probably as knowledgeable as the starting quarterback or any coach and defensively, he knows the scheme, and he knows how to read opposing offenses extremely effectively.
If you’ve been at any of the games, you’ve seen him using these talents on sidelines, actively helping his teammates and coaches try to win games.
That’s an example of the type of guy that Kysen Niblett is, and it’s why he’s so loved by the community, which really showed when he got injured.
There was a Facebook post regarding his injury that received 239 likes, 22 shares and 123 comments.
Many of those comments were prayers, love and support sent Kysen’s way as the community wrapped their arms around him and his family, which they felt.
“It’s very touching and emotional,” Celeste Niblett said. “I couldn’t believe it, how much the people and the kids were coming to the house, and family we hadn’t seen in years were coming, bringing Kysen gift baskets and food. Everybody was trying to do something, somehow, it was overwhelming. But I know that’s because Kysen’s a good kid. Everybody loves him because he’s a good kid, it’s not just football. People really love him.”
It’s a good thing to be overwhelmed by love and it speaks not only the tightly knit community of Levelland, but also to Kysen’s character as his Mamaw addressed.
Those who know him, know that he leads with kindness and is always looking to help people out, which he’s actively doing with the football team, when he’s the one in an adverse circumstance.
I don’t know him personally, but from the 30 minutes he and his grandmother were in my office for an interview, he exhibited nothing but respect, kindness and positivity.
That type of character is why the community has so much love for him, and it will take him far further than football ever could.
He stills dreams of playing college football and would even be willing to walk-on to “feel the fun of football again.”
A few colleges have looked at him, but he’s yet to receive any offers.
It will be a long road to recovery ahead for him to get to a playing point again, but he’s going to give it his best shot to play college football.
“If it doesn’t go that way, it’s just all in God’s hands,” Kysen said. “Whatever God has planned for me, that’s what I’ll do.”
Whether he achieves his dreams or not, he’ll be backed by the Levelland community with all the love and support possible.
Kysen, everyone is rooting and praying for you in not only your recovery, but life.