Doctors 'optimistic' hospitalized Liberty Common soccer player will make full recovery

Doctors treating the Liberty Common High School boys soccer player who was seriously injured in a playoff game last week are “optimistic” he’ll make a full recovery, his father said Tuesday.

“He’s doing well,” Joe LaMastra said. “He’s progressing and improving every single day, and so we’re really happy with the trajectory that he’s on for recovery.”

Jay LaMastra, a senior defender, was knocked unconscious in a head-to-head collision with an opposing player during a Class 3A semifinal game Nov. 9 in Lakewood and taken off the field by ambulance.

After initial treatment in the emergency room at Centura St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, he was transferred to the intensive care unit, where he remained Tuesday.

“His medical status is stable now,” Joe LaMastra said by phone from the hospital. “Now it’s a matter of working on recovery.”

Jay, 17, could be transferred out of the ICU as early as Wednesday, his mother, Shelley LaMastra, said. But he’ll likely be in the hospital for several more days, maybe even weeks, before being transferred to a rehabilitation hospital for additional recovery and therapy.

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Doctors treating Jay said they had never seen the type of injury he suffered from a soccer game before, his parents said, noting that it was more commonly caused by high-speed crashes — “car accidents or ski accidents,” Joe said.

“Based on all the feedback we’ve gotten from all the specialists and all the physicians in this field is that his prognosis is really, really good for a full recovery,” Joe said. “… He’ll get there. It just takes time.”

Colorado Academy, the team Liberty Common was playing that night, wore armbands with LaMastra’s jersey number (5) during its win over Peak to Peak in the state championship game Saturday in Colorado Springs. A message of support from the Colorado High School Activities Association was shared by the public-address announcer before the game, followed by a moment of silence while a picture of Jay was displayed on the stadium’s digital scoreboard.

“The whole soccer community in Colorado has been really amazing,” Joe said.

Liberty Common players and coaches were at the hospital just 2 miles away from the stadium immediately after the semifinal game — players voted to resume the game that night rather than postpone it for 24 hours after being given that option — and again Sunday, coach Cyrus Salehi said.

Their presence Sunday “meant a lot to him,” Shelley said. “They’re both his teammates and his best friends.”

Coaches from Colorado Academy visited Jay and his parents at the hospital the night after game, too, Joe said. And the director of the private school in Denver has been in regular communication with them.

Jay has long road ahead in his recovery, his parents said. But they’re optimistic he’ll get there and grateful for all the support they have received.

“He’s a fighter,” Shelley said. “He works hard. He’s going to get through this and press through this, and he’s got an army of people who have come up alongside us and behind us to get through this, which has been phenomenal.”

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Kelly Lyell reports on CSU, high school and other local sports and topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, follow him on Twitter @KellyLyell and find him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Hospitalized Liberty Common soccer player Jay LaMastra 'improving'