The Grind, presented by Bank of Clarendon: USC Sumter's Talford battles adversity on and off pitch as she recovers from 2nd ACL tear

New USC Sumter soccer player Teshio Talford has pretty much experienced every hurdle possible on the pitch.

Her freshman year at Lancaster High School was erased by COVID-19. Her sophomore year was cut short by an ACL tear. Her junior year proved to be the only time she was able to play a full season, as she returned for her final season only to tear her other ACL during a preseason scrimmage.

Through all that, she found her way to USC Sumter. While she isn't playing yet as she recovers from her injury, she's determined to make the most of the opportunity.

Based on the way she grew up, she only knows how to fight.

"She's the exception to every rule," Teshio's mother, Tracey Clyburn said. "I would never have thought she would be the person that she is after all of the situations we've been through. I'm so, so proud of my baby; words couldn't even describe how proud I am of her."

ALWAYS MOVING

Teshio's childhood was spent in constant motion.

When she was very young, their family house burned down. Tracey never got a firm answer as to what happened, but she thinks it was faulty wiring that sparked in their kitchen.

"We lost everything," Tracey said.

They didn't have insurance on the house, so they were completely left in limbo. With nowhere to turn, Tracey did whatever she could to keep a roof over the heads of her children.

"We lived from place to place sleeping on people's floors, sleeping in the car, sleeping out of hotels," Tracey said. "My daddy left us that house, and we didn't have any insurance on it, so it was really hard. We're still feeling the aftermath. The house we're living in still isn't up to par, but it's the only place that I can afford."

Throughout the constant moves, Teshio saw her mother fight to provide for her family as a single mother with seven children.

"I tried," Tracey said. "I disappointed myself a lot, and I thought I disappointed my kids because we didn't have a stable place and people were treating us all kinds of ways, staying at their house and sleeping on their floor and stuff and charging me an arm and a leg to sleep on the floor, not even a bed. It still hurts me because I think I could've done more, but I tried my best."

Teshio was far from disappointed with her mother. She was proud of the way she fought.

"She showed that even through tough times, you can keep going," Teshio said. "It may not be looking good for you, but you've got to keep going."

The toughest hurdle to clear was the loss of Teshio's aunt, Rachel Strain. Rachel was battling cancer but didn't tell her family until she was near the end.

"The only reason why we found out was my mom was doing her hair, and her hair fell out because of the chemo," Teshio said. "That was stressful because I couldn't visit her in the hospital because my mom wouldn't let me, and she wouldn't either; she just told me everything would be OK.

"When that happened, I got to the point where I was closed off with emotions because it really did hurt."

FINDING SOCCER

Teshio never really played organized sports growing up because she moved around too often. By the time she got to high school at Lancaster, she wanted to give it a try. With the help of a coach and eventual close family friend, Shane Sanders, Teshio found her way to the soccer field.

Then everything just clicked.

"It felt amazing," Teshio said of her first time on the pitch. "Like that feeling you get when you're young and you're outside running and playing, and it doesn't matter. It felt like I could leave everything else on the field, win or loss.

"Still to this day, I feel like I need to be on the field because that's how I deal with my emotions."

Even though she had never played the sport, she immediately thrived. She was invited to play varsity as a freshman.

"It was weird. Everyone told me it was like natural," Teshio said.

MORE OBSTACLES

Teshio saw soccer as a way to let out her emotions. Unfortunately, the pitch wasn't always there for her.

Lancaster played just one game Teshio's freshman year before COVID-19 wiped out their season. She didn't get a ton of time on the pitch as a sophomore, as her first injury set in.

Teshio was practicing with her team and landed wrong. She knew her knee hurt but didn't know the severity and went about her life normally. She went to a trampoline park with some friends, and what structural integrity was left in her knee was erased.

Suddenly, Teshio's sanctuary was taken from her again.

"That was a struggle because I missed being on the field so bad. It was like a mental battle," Teshio said. "When I got back on the field, it was like a mental battle because there was a fear of hurting my leg again because of how bad I wanted to play. After I played and practiced a little bit, the fear was out of my head."

Her junior season came and went without a hitch. She committed to play for USC Sumter in December, and a few months later, tragedy struck again.

"It was in the middle of a game," Teshio said of the injury. "I jumped up, and it didn't feel like the other one; it just felt like it was tight. I was told it was tightness. That's why I didn't go to the doctor. Then it happened again at practice, and I went to the doctor, and they told me I tore my ACL. It was traumatic.

"I was mad. My coach was trying to calm me down, but I felt like this was just a remake of the last injury. I wasn't feeling pain, mostly because the adrenaline was running. But even after the game, I didn't really feel it. It was more so that I couldn't play, that's what hurt the most."

So Teshio spent her entire senior year on the sideline, wishing she could do something to help her team win.

"I was so mad because I felt like I could see the field from a different point of view than some of my teammates, so I felt like I could help, but I couldn't get out there on the field, so it hurt real bad," Teshio said. "The only thing I wanted to do was play, and that's still how it is right now. I'm working my tail off in rehab so I can play again."

STILL FIGHTING

As Teshio kept battling injuries, Tracey couldn't understand why her daughter refused to quit the sport.

"I was like, 'Teshio, why do you want to keep doing this? You keep hurting yourself,'" Tracey said.

Teshio's response was pretty simple.

"I told her it's love," she said. "I just can't quit because I really love this sport. With injury or not, I'll still go back to it. It helps me with my emotions and helps me cope."

That was all Tracey needed to hear. She couldn't fully understand, but she wanted to support her daughter. Now that Teshio is on a college soccer team, she learned there was no point in doubting her determination.

"You ain't ever in your life going to be able to tell her she can't do something because she's the kind of person that's going to prove you wrong. She has always had that mentality," Tracey said. "I will never ever again say, 'You might need to rethink that.'"

Shane has worked with a number of athletes throughout his career, and he's never seen anyone that has needed to fight as much as Teshio.

"She is remarkable. I've always said she's a tornado in cleats," Shane said. "She's a perfect balance of finesse and fury on and off the field. She's got a good combination of ballet and bulldozer when it comes to her play style, so you kind of expect injuries, but not like that. You wouldn't expect her to run into the obstacles that she's faced and overcome them.

"She basically made a personal rivalry with her challenges, and she was determined to win it. She hates to lose."

Shane knows how important the sport is to Teshio. After seeing Teshio spend her early life in constant motion, soccer is one constant, even if injuries try to get in the way.

"It's hard to say that didn't contribute to her competitiveness and 'I'm going to prove them wrong' attitude," Shane said of her upbringing. "It kinda gave her the feeling that there are certain things she can control, such as how she performs on the field or her grades. The field definitely became her sanctuary and her outlet. It was the only constant that she could rely on. With every goal, it was like reminding herself that she was in control of her own game. She might not have been in control of her housing situation or injuries or anything. That carries into the classroom."

JOINING THE FIRE ANTS

USC Sumter head women's soccer coach Leah Huelsing knows that Teshio didn't have the most experience on the pitch, but she's seen first hand the tenacity she brings to the field.

"I invited her out to one of our camps, and you could tell there was something a little extra special about her," Huelsing said. "She was super aggressive, very vocal with the other campers. She really stood out at camp, and that's where we really got excited about the potential she had."

After Teshio got hurt, an understandable fear set in. She wasn't sure if the Fire Ants still wanted her. Huelsing was quick to put that worry to bed.

"Knowing that I had her back 110% really pushed her," Huelsing said. "As soon as she found out, she was motivated to get the surgery done and get PT started right away. When I first saw her this summer when they started arriving to campus, she was really excited to get started with rehabbing."

That response showed Teshio why she picked USC Sumter in the first place.

"She's honestly such a nice and warming person. She made me feel like I was at home," Teshio said. "I really liked that because it wasn't only about soccer; it felt like a family."

PUTTING IN THE WORK

Teshio isn't expected to be back on the field this fall, but she's putting in a lot of work to return to the pitch as soon as possible.

"Sometimes with injured athletes where you know they're out for the season, they won't be as invested in coming to practice," Huelsing said. "She's been to every practice, every meeting, she's coming to games. I think that speaks a lot about her dedication."

Compared to her first ACL injury, Teshio feels like she's well ahead of schedule. The focus of her rehab has been on building up strength in both of her legs, all the way up to her hips. With everything building at the same pace, she isn't putting added stress on one specific body part.

"After the first surgery, it was more that I couldn't get my quad firing. This one is moving a lot faster," Teshio said. "I'm moving my leg, I'm bending it. I might be able to start jogging and running pretty soon. With the other leg, I wasn't able to walk for a good bit."

That drive to get back on the field also translates to the classroom. Teshio graduated from Lancaster with a 4.60 GPA and will study to be a nurse at USC Sumter. She's a first-generation college student and plans to make the most of her opportunity.

"I've had a lot of loss. Some of my people, I feel like they had the potential, but they let that go by hanging around with the worst people they could be with or just something or someone bringing them down," Teshio said. "I want to be somebody, and I want to do something with my life. Whatever it takes, I will do it."

She's also working to give back to the person who sacrificed everything for her growing up.

"You have your children and you wish them all well, but then you have some that are out there that are all about themselves. Those two right there, I know (Teshio and her brother Chris are) going to take care of me," Tracey said. "She tells me she's going to get me out of this small town because she knows there's nothing here and I won't be able to grow because I put all of my life into making sure they were taken care of. She said it's time for them to take care of me."