2022-09-12, 11:21 PM - Word count:
In Erik Tildesfunchen's young life, he has faced more adversity than most will ever know. However, instead of letting it defeat him, he has used it as motivation to become one of the top soccer prospects in the world.
Born with a severe spinal deformity, Erik was not expected to ever walk, let alone play soccer. The condition left several middle verterbrae in his spine made of spongy cartilege rather than bone, which resulted in him having a severe drooping posture as a child and unable to build the core strength necessary to counteract this "soft bone syndrome." In spite of this, his love of the sport blossomed as he would watch with his father on TV, and through sheer determination and hard work, he is now a young man that has not only learned to walk, but also to run and play the game he loves. A young man who rather than mourning, would triumph.
An experimental surgery inserting rods coupled with a cocktail of medications allowed his spine to properly stiffen and improve bloodflow to long-neglected muscles, propelling a now pre-teen Tidesfunchen upwards to stand straight for the first time in his life. Within a year, he was walking with no assistance. Within two, he had joined a youth soccer team. Within five years, he was being recruited by almost every top soccer academy in his home country of Germany. "It's funny, when I first really got to the point of walking I started putting on a ton of weight, and I was actually kind of almost half-chubby for a bit. But then my body got used to the extra calories I needed from the exercise."
Now a highly-rated attacking midfielder, Erik is being scouted by some of the top soccer programs in the world. He is determined to show everyone that anything is possible if you never give up on your dreams. "I am here today, standing proud and erect, because I refused to believe I couldn't do something," he said in a recent interview. "It may have been hard, but the challenges to come in professional football will be even harder. I'll continue to be hard on myself because this is everything I've ever wanted."
Erik's story is an inspiration to us all, and it seems likely that the next step in his journey will be a move to the SSL, where rumours have him being a prospect of interest in the upcoming draft.
Born with a severe spinal deformity, Erik was not expected to ever walk, let alone play soccer. The condition left several middle verterbrae in his spine made of spongy cartilege rather than bone, which resulted in him having a severe drooping posture as a child and unable to build the core strength necessary to counteract this "soft bone syndrome." In spite of this, his love of the sport blossomed as he would watch with his father on TV, and through sheer determination and hard work, he is now a young man that has not only learned to walk, but also to run and play the game he loves. A young man who rather than mourning, would triumph.
An experimental surgery inserting rods coupled with a cocktail of medications allowed his spine to properly stiffen and improve bloodflow to long-neglected muscles, propelling a now pre-teen Tidesfunchen upwards to stand straight for the first time in his life. Within a year, he was walking with no assistance. Within two, he had joined a youth soccer team. Within five years, he was being recruited by almost every top soccer academy in his home country of Germany. "It's funny, when I first really got to the point of walking I started putting on a ton of weight, and I was actually kind of almost half-chubby for a bit. But then my body got used to the extra calories I needed from the exercise."
Now a highly-rated attacking midfielder, Erik is being scouted by some of the top soccer programs in the world. He is determined to show everyone that anything is possible if you never give up on your dreams. "I am here today, standing proud and erect, because I refused to believe I couldn't do something," he said in a recent interview. "It may have been hard, but the challenges to come in professional football will be even harder. I'll continue to be hard on myself because this is everything I've ever wanted."
Erik's story is an inspiration to us all, and it seems likely that the next step in his journey will be a move to the SSL, where rumours have him being a prospect of interest in the upcoming draft.
