By Andrew Brengelman, Malone Media Practicum Student

Jordan Young was an all-star athlete in Canada for their top youth soccer team. The 15-year-old striker already had a verbal commitment to Cornell University and had a promising athletic career ahead of him.

Faith was a big part of Jordan's family's life but not so much for him. With all the talent he had, he believed he could do it all himself, without the help of a higher power.

At Jordan's last national tournament of his junior year, a grueling tackle caused a break in his femur. The break was inches away from an artery, that if damaged, could have been life threatening. The doctors said he may never walk properly again.

When recently asked the question "Why do you think this happened?", Jordan responded, "It was a slap in the face from God telling me I need Him." 
 
At the time, Jordan was angry with God, asking Him questions like "Why me?"

He continued to push God away.  After the leg break, Cornell dropped him, and no other D1 school wanted him. He was devastated.

Jordan was struggling. One day he was in bed scrolling on his phone, and saw the quote "True strength often rises at our weakest point." After seeing this quote, he believed that it was a message from God.  He realized that he had been blessed with talent but never gave the glory to God.

Jordan was dedicated to playing soccer again.  He started rehab two weeks after the accident, and went as often as possible. Within eight weeks, he was walking with just a brace. During rehab, he constructed a highlight video to try to get new scholarships. An English coach in Liverpool saw this video and contacted Jordan.  

The English coach of the "90 Plus Academy" invited Jordan to play. At the age of 17, Jordan was the youngest player for the Academy and, in his first game, he scored two goals and had one assist. He won the captain's armband for the next game. Everyone was shocked that he had made it this far.

After a successful season in England, Jordan went to North Carolina to play for Chowan University. God was a huge factor in his decision-making process this time. He felt God was calling him to work his way back through college soccer. In Jordan's freshman year, his team won the regional tournament and went to nationals. He felt as if he had completed that chapter in his life.

Moving on meant Jordan was looking to transfer to an NCAA Division II school in another region, and was letting God "Take the wheel." After applying and receiving scholarship offers to many schools, Malone was the one who awarded him the most. Jordan viewed this as a sign from God. After coming to Malone University and playing his junior year for the Pioneers, everything was looking up for Jordan.

Jordan went home to Canada for the off-season. After a nice relaxing day with his girlfriend, he dropped her off at home. On the way back to his house, he heard a voice in his head that said "Jordan take the long way home!" Jordan, thinking nothing of it, shrugged it off.

When he was a few minutes from home, the steering shut off, which caused him to lose complete control of his car. Jordan flew over the curb onto the wrong side of the road. He ran into a traffic light, and was knocked unconscious. Jordan woke up when he hit a second curb, only to see a traffic sign coming through his passenger side window. Jordan was unable to stop the vehicle, but he did brace himself for the impact of the traffic sign. He blocked his head causing the sign to only gash his arm instead of cause severe damage to his skull.

At this moment, Jordan accepted death. He was unable to stop the car, and he saw a large cement bridge ahead. He was saying goodbyes in his head to all his loved ones. It was at this time that Jordan heard a shout from God saying "No, it is not over!" A miracle commenced. Jordan somehow regained his steering ability, was able to pull over, and limit the blow of the last collision.

Jordan's car was completely destroyed. Police were called by an unknown number, and were told that they were going to pull up to a fatality. When police arrived, they were shocked. They told Jordan that "Someone was looking out for you." They also said if anyone was in the passenger seat, they would have died. Jordan's girlfriend was in the passenger seat earlier that day. This was a really scary point in Jordan's life.

Jordan came back to Malone for his senior season with a message for the Pioneers, and anyone else who wanted to listen. 

"Never take life for granted! Everyday wake up and tell every person that you love them, and how much they mean to you. You never know when your life will end. A miracle happened! I am blessed. I thank God that he has given me another day."

Jordan's story sparked a fire into the Malone men's soccer team. This past season, the Pioneers registered six victories which marked the program's highest win total since 2012.  The squad also tallied 19 goals which was the most in a single season since 2013.   The members of the 2018 Malone men's soccer team will always remember Jordan's story and that, "True strength often rises at our weakest point".