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 While Major League Soccer teams head into the final weeks of preseason and players in the North American Soccer League and USL PRO teams are finalizing their 2012 plans, Aaron Hohlbein (Middleton/UW) is in Madison working to get healthy and hoping for a shot with one of those teams later this season.
Hohlbein is coming back after having surgery on his right knee last August, a procedure that removed torn cartilage and included microfracture – tiny holes were drilled into the end of the bone to help stimulate new cartilage growth.
Six months later, Hohlbein has just recently started to do some soccer-related activities.
"You never think it's going to be that long, I definitely didn't, but everything I read and what doctors and trainers had said is it could be anywhere from four months to as long as nine months. It just depends on how your body reacts," Hohlbein said last week after a brief run out with players at the Madison 56ers' tryout for their National Premier Soccer League team at Salon Centinela.
"The last few weeks I've been able to push it a little harder and it's reacted pretty good, so I'm hoping that I can keep increasing my workload and make a real jump at it sometime this year."
The surgery halted a promising 2011 season for Hohlbein.
After 43 appearances (41 starts) over four seasons with the Kansas City Wizards in MLS, the 6-foot center back went in search of more consistent playing time and signed with the NASL's Fort Lauderdale Strikers – he had spent 10 games on loan with the club in 2010, when it was known as Miami FC.
Hohlbein was named the Strikers' team captain and went the full 90 minutes in all 14 of his appearances with the second-division club, playing through knee pain for the last few matches. But his knee swelled up badly after one game, prompting an MRI that showed the cartilage damage.
"I was feeling really good," Hohlbein said of his time with the Strikers, who went on to lose to the NSC Minnesota Stars in the inaugural NASL Championship Series. "I felt I was playing well, (and) to be part of that organization and obviously part of a quality team that ended up making the final, it was special. It was really frustrating to have to be out with the injury and watch them do it.
"It was tough. I'd never had a injury where I'd been out for a long period of time, so it's definitely been frustrating and challenging. But you just have to deal with it and do whatever you can do."
In addition to rehabilitating his knee, the 26-year-old Hohlbein has been taking classes as he looks to complete his history degree at UW. He admits he has asked himself several times what he would do if he wasn't a professional soccer player anymore.
"I have. And I come up with the same answer every time: I don't know," Hohlbein said with a laugh, then added that he'd like to look into teaching and coaching. "I've done some clinics and stuff like that, but I've never coached a team. But I think that would be something I would enjoy."
For now, though, he's focused on continuing in his current profession.
"In just these last few weeks, I've been able to progress a little bit, in terms of doing stuff with a little bit of speed with the ball," he said. "The hard part, once I'm physically able from an injury standpoint, is getting physically fit in a game sense."
To that end, Hohlbein said he plans to contact UW coach John Trask to inquire about training with the Badgers sometime this spring. He's also probably welcome at any 56ers' training session: He played for the team in its first two seasons, his parents have long been part of the team's organizing committee and his older brother, Jed, is the team's all-time leading scorer and will be a player-coach this season.
Once he gets back to match fitness, Hohlbein will have to convince teams to give him a trial. While he'd love another chance in MLS, he says the NASL and USL PRO would be good options, too.
"I want to give myself the best shot I can at making it to the highest level I can," said Hohlbein, whose wife, Melinda, is expecting the couple's first child next month.
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