MCALLEN, Texas – Having overcome the disappointment of missing out at the Fifa Women’s World Cup due to injury last year, Kayla McCoy is not only happy to be back in the fold with the Reggae Girlz, but is determined to show that she has returned even stronger.

Though dealing with the torn anterior cruciate ligament, which ruled out of the Reggae Girlz team ahead of their World Cup kickoff in France was heart-wrenching, McCoy, while accepting that some injuries are unavoidable, knew all too well that giving up was not an option.

With the help and support of family members, friends as well as her Reggae Girlz and Houston Dash teammates, the striker was able to bounce back from surgery a few months later and is now ready to play her part as the Reggae Girlz chase the Olympic dream at the Concacaf Women’s Qualifiers here in south Texas.

“There were a couple other (Houston Dash) teammates who I was ‘rehabbing’ with…and I think it just really makes the whole recovery process easier when you’re going through it with somebody else. And you never wish that upon anybody, but it does help to have other people going through the same thing with you that you can bounce ideas off.

“I had a teammate that was six weeks ahead of me, so it was good to kind of have somebody who I could like, look at and be like, in six weeks, I can be there too, you know. And just seeing the progress that she made so quickly I was then able to like push myself to be at that spot as well and it feels really good to be back,” McCoy, who holds a degree in cultural anthropology and a minor in chemistry, told the Jamaica Observer.

“My doctor cleared me to play a while back, so I’m feeling good and just getting ready to get back out there on the field to play again,” she said with glow.

“I’ve been waiting for this opportunity to play again, so I’m excited to be back with the team and back playing and my knee feels really good. I feel great, I’ve been training with Will [Hitzelberger], so I felt fit going into camp and it’s just been very exciting to resume doing what I love, because it was a long time to not play,” added a delighted McCoy,

The Lincolnwood, Illinois native, who earns her Jamaican stripes through her grandparents — one of whom is Speaker of the House of Representatives Pearnel Charles Snr — pointed out that her time off the field further enhanced her deep appreciation for this creative talent to play football.

“Obviously, it’s very disappointing to miss out on the World Cup, you know, you dream of playing in that tournament your whole life. But just coming back, I have just kind of a greater appreciation for being healthy, being able to run around being able to play the game I love, and so I’m just not going to take any moment on the field for granted. I’m just going to enjoy it and kind of show what I got and show what I can do but just really enjoy the opportunity to play again to be around my teammates again and kind of be involved in the game,” McCoy shared.

Needless to say, McCoy and her Reggae Girlz teammates are intent on using their World Cup experience as motivation to spring board their ambitions for this tournament, as they once again aim to etch their names in the annals of Jamaica’s sporting history.

The World 51st-ranked Jamaica were scheduled to open their Group B account against Mexico at HEB Park in Edinburgh yesterday, while Canada and St Kitts and Nevis were set to lock horns.

Unlike the World Cup where three teams progressed, only two teams will represent the confederation at the Olympic Games in Tokyo later this year and McCoy is by no means doubting the possibility of Jamaica being one of those teams.

“I think we have a really good chance. I think that If we come out and play the way we’re able to play well like we have a really good chance of qualifying and I’m excited to see what this team can do because we have a lot of untapped potential.

“Obviously, camp was very productive and very organised and really beneficial not only for me and my development as a player, but for my teammates as well. So, we just have to take it one game at time and like I said, once we go out and execute the way we know how to, then we should be good,” McCoy noted.