As Julia Kile waits for the girl to take her shot, her heart is pounding out of her chest. All she can hear is the wack as her opponent’s cleat strikes the ball. Kile dives and punches the ball away from the goal. As she hears the screaming of the crowd, all Kile can think of is five-year-old Julia laying in her hospital bed awaiting the first of many eye surgeries. She never imagined she would grow up to become a goalie for the North Penn girl’s soccer team.

Julia Kile is a senior at North Penn, who just finished her four-year career on the North Penn girl’s soccer team. Kile has been playing soccer for the majority of her life for Towamencin Soccer Club, developing her skills as a goalie.

“Sports have always been an escape from the reality of my impaired eyesight. When I started playing goalie, I wasn’t sure I would be able to play after all I went through” Kile revealed.

It all started back when Kile was only two years of age. Kile and her family were informed that she would need surgery to correct the out-turning on her right eye. Two years later, when she was four, Kile was readmitted for another eye surgery, but this time on her left eye. What was supposed to be routine surgery, turned into much more than that when the doctors accidentally severed her eye muscle. The same year, Kile had a repair surgery to reattach the muscle in her eye. Kile finally underwent her final surgery when she was five to lower her left eye muscle so that it was level with her right eye muscle, as well as remove a surgical cyst.

“Though I was very young, I remember the in-betweens of surgery, the hospital beds, the gowns, and playing games with my parents before surgery. I also remember afterward being in dark recovery rooms and being wheelchaired to my car,” shared Kile.

While the eye surgeries may seem like the most difficult part of Kile’s journey, the recovery was truly the most difficult obstacle.

“I had to rehab and strengthen my eyesight to get my left eye on par with my right. I had to wear an eye patch on both eyes and slowly transition to glasses, which was extremely difficult,” said Kile. “But I think the hardest thing was going from normal eyesight to abnormal,” Kile shared.

Obviously, after undergoing such serious surgeries it can be really hard to adjust back to your normal routine. Kile didn’t know life without sports since she grew up playing not only soccer but also lacrosse, flag, and tackle football. Kile was never into soccer that much until she was offered a non-field position.

“I enjoyed goalie because it allowed me to get more physical and be more aggressive. But I wasn’t sure that goalie would be the best thing for me after eye surgery. As a goalie, you have to learn how to track and move with the ball, which is really difficult when you can’t really see the ball,” stated Kile.

But Kile knew that being a goalie was her passion and what she truly loved. While she knew she had a long road ahead of her, she wasn’t ready to give up on what she loved most. Years later, Kile still plays goalie for Towamencin Soccer Club and even finished a career with the North Penn girl’s soccer team as a two-year varsity letter winner. Kile says that she feels being a goalie has helped her to overcome the barriers of eye surgery and learn how to work hard not only on the field but in life.

“With the desire to become a goalie, I had to push myself to work around my slight disability and adapt to difficult circumstances. Without this sport, I would have never worked this hard to get where I am today. I also don’t think I would have ever found other sports like throwing for North Penn’s tracks and field team,” explained Kile.

Kile acknowledges that she went through a lot to get where she is today, but she knows that her story is what has shaped her identity. Although it’s difficult not to be upset at the conditions she went through, she is grateful for what they did give her.

“I believe it has allowed me to be more confident and pushed me to become a stronger and more well-rounded athlete,” said Kile.

Kile has applied to many colleges including The University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, and West Chester University. While she doesn’t plan on playing goalie in college she will always carry a love for the sport and remember all that it gave her.

“I will always cherish the days of playing goalie, and although I am sad that my career at North Penn is officially over, I can’t wait to finish my season with Towamenicn,” Kile concluded with a smile.