COLLEGE SOCCER: Henson not unknown

P.J. Henson was once on the fast path to landing a college scholarship to play soccer.

From age five, Henson had refined his skills through backyard drills, camps, travel teams and competition at Myers Park High School.

Life then took a major turn early one morning in his junior year. Henson was on his way to a game with his club team. He wound up in a hospital bed.

The roadblock

During an interview Tuesday afternoon on the E&H campus, Henson calmly recounted the nightmarish scenario which unfolded shortly after he took the exit for busy Interstate 485 in Charlotte.

“My car got hit by a hit-a-run driver,” Henson said. “The impact caused me to crash into the guardrail and concrete median. The hood of my car was just crunched in.”

Henson was hospitalized for two weeks as doctors devised a plan to repair the extensive damage to his face.

 “They had to take bones out of my hips, and replace all the bones that were lost in my face,” Henson said.  “There was years of reconstructive surgery, recovery and rehab. That wreck just took a lot out of me.”

Not only did Henson miss the state semifinal run of his high school soccer team. The recruiting interesting also gradually faded.

“I had been talking with some big schools and asking them to come watch me play. But after the wreck, the coaches knew I was looking at years of surgery and I kind of stopped hearing from them,” Henson said.

A new direction

Despite earning all-conference and all-region honors as a junior and senior at Myers Park, Henson didn’t receive any offers from scholarship schools. However, former E&H soccer coaches Craig Appleby and Travis Fravel never gave up hope.

“The coaches at Emory continued to talk with me,” Henson said. “Their persistence in recruiting me really meant a lot.”

After visiting the E&H campus and meeting the players, Henson embarked on an ambitious long-range mission.

“I saw what a close-knit family there was within the team,” Henson said.  “The soccer program here is still basically new, and I wanted to leave my mark on the school and helped set the foundation for the years to come.”

Record-setter

Henson paced the Wasps in goals in each of his first three seasons, earning second-team All-ODAC honors as a sophomore.  He was forced to miss all of last season after injuring his knee in a preseason game match, but the 5-foot-7 forward returned this year to guide the Wasps offense.

In a Sept. 7 match against Averett, Henson established his legacy by setting a school record with his 25th career goal. Entering today’s season finale at Washington & Lee, Henson has 27 goals.

“The record is a great honor and I’m proud of it, but I credit the assistance of my teammates,” Henson said. “That [record] is a testament to our program and how far we have come. Football is always going to be king in Southwest Virginia, but over the past five years I’ve noticed growth in terms of understanding the game and attendance.”

The E&H men’s and women’s program have long struggled to complete in the soccer-rich ODAC. The Wasps (4-12, 1-8) again failed to qualify for the conference tournament. But the Wasps have dropped seven matches by just one goal.

“Our success this season can’t be measured by our record,” Henson said. “I think the greatest example of that was when we played Lynchburg, which lost in overtime in the national finals last season. I think Lynchburg, they beat us 7-0 last year, and this year we lost 2-1 in overtime to Lynchburg. That was the transition I was hoping for when I came in as a freshman.”

Role model

According to first-year E&H soccer coach Nathan Kish, Henson has set the example for the Wasps with his commitment on the field and the classroom.

Henson carries a 3.7 grade point average and has applied to several medical schools. In his spare time, Henson has worked an internship at Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon, Va., and served as a teacher’s assistant at E&H. Henson also assisted with the AHS boys soccer team for two years.

“P.J. has a definitely been a team leader,” said Kish, whose uncle Tim Kish was recently named the interim head football coach at the University of Arizona. “Our younger guys look up to P.J. and our older guys respect him. P.J. does things the right way and always works hard.”

Kish said the obstacles faced Henson just added to the resolve.

“P.J. kind of had a unique road to reach this point, and I  think that makes everything a little sweeter for him,” Kish said. “He’s overcome the challenges and earned all his achievements.”

Rearview mirror

With his busy daily pace, Henson doesn’t have time to dwell on what might have been. He has no regrets about taking the Division III route.

“The [car wreck] is just something that happened to me, and I have to accept it,” said Henson, who didn’t fully recovery from his injuries until his sophomore year at E&H.  “I had to work to overcome my injuries, but I feel like that I’m a stronger person because of it.”

Henson also draws off the memory of former Charlotte area soccer teammate Julian Brown, who died in a bus accident in France while competing with an Olympic Development Program team.

“Julian was one of my best friends,” Henson said. “I was a sophomore in high school when Julian died. His death has been a constant inspiration and reminder to me to always to my best because you never know when your last game is going to be.”

And Henson hopes to leave one more impression for his teammates today at W&L.

“I’ve been through a lot with soccer, and my final college match is going emotional and nerve-wracking,” Henson said. “Every athlete wants to end in a high note, and we have the opportunity to do that.”

agregory@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Greg_BHCSports | (276) 645-2544