NEB HS: Cameron is 'Killen' The Competition
January 29th, 2007
Cancer-Survivor Cameron Killen Among Top Scorers in Nebraska
By Robert Molinelli
WSL Nebraska Correspondent
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton Prep senior attackman Cameron Killen has a surgically reconstructed and partially prosthetic left leg, so it's easy to underestimate him on the lacrosse field.
It's also not smart.
In 2006, Killen scored 18 goals for the Junior Jays, making him the fourth-leading scorer in the Omaha Metro Area Lacrosse League.
"You think that you can ease off of him a little bit," said Brian Smith, a former Creighton Prep defenseman who played with Killen. "But then he gets a pass and rockets it in."
Killen was diagnosed with cancer at age 9, and in order to remove a tumor in his leg, doctors were forced to remove Killen’s knee. However, thanks to a relatively unknown surgery called rotationplasty, Killen is able not only to walk, but to play lacrosse. Rotationplasty uses the ankle to replace the knee joint by rotating and attaching the lower leg to the lower thigh. After spending a year in a wheelchair and another year on crutches, Killen began to walk with the use of a prosthetic.
After his surgery, Killen took up golf, but he became interested in lacrosse in seventh grade. The hardest part was learning to run again, he said, but after that the sport just came to him.
"The reason I did this surgery was to play sports again," Killen said. "The goal was to be active, but I couldn’t have guessed it would have worked out for me."
Killen’s coach, Steve Haney, has watched Killen develop and grow as a player. Haney was immediately impressed with Killen’s stick skills, but he points to the player's growth in confidence as the most important part of his game. According to Haney, Killen has gone from strictly playing attack on the perimeter to getting right into the mix of things.
"He just wants the ball, so he goes and gets it," Haney said. "I’ve seen him outrun defenders to the ball several times."
The pleasantly-humble Killen attributes much of his success to his teammates. But those teammates, and opponents throughout the league, point to Killen's stellar shot.
"Part of the reason I shoot is to prove something out there," Killen said. "I like to score goals on people who think I can’t do it."
Killen will attempt to continue to prove people wrong this year as he captains a Creighton Prep team that only returns a handful of seniors. Haney believes that Killen, who he describes as his go-to guy on offense and a valuable team leader, is more than up to the challenge.
Though he is undecided about where he will go to college, Killen knows for sure what he wants to study.
"I want to go to med school," Killen said. "It just seems fitting. I’ve been in the hospital so much, why not go back?"
WSL Nebraska Correspondent
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton Prep senior attackman Cameron Killen has a surgically reconstructed and partially prosthetic left leg, so it's easy to underestimate him on the lacrosse field.
 |
In 2006, Killen scored 18 goals for the Junior Jays, making him the fourth-leading scorer in the Omaha Metro Area Lacrosse League.
"You think that you can ease off of him a little bit," said Brian Smith, a former Creighton Prep defenseman who played with Killen. "But then he gets a pass and rockets it in."
Killen was diagnosed with cancer at age 9, and in order to remove a tumor in his leg, doctors were forced to remove Killen’s knee. However, thanks to a relatively unknown surgery called rotationplasty, Killen is able not only to walk, but to play lacrosse. Rotationplasty uses the ankle to replace the knee joint by rotating and attaching the lower leg to the lower thigh. After spending a year in a wheelchair and another year on crutches, Killen began to walk with the use of a prosthetic.
After his surgery, Killen took up golf, but he became interested in lacrosse in seventh grade. The hardest part was learning to run again, he said, but after that the sport just came to him.
"The reason I did this surgery was to play sports again," Killen said. "The goal was to be active, but I couldn’t have guessed it would have worked out for me."
Killen’s coach, Steve Haney, has watched Killen develop and grow as a player. Haney was immediately impressed with Killen’s stick skills, but he points to the player's growth in confidence as the most important part of his game. According to Haney, Killen has gone from strictly playing attack on the perimeter to getting right into the mix of things.
"He just wants the ball, so he goes and gets it," Haney said. "I’ve seen him outrun defenders to the ball several times."
The pleasantly-humble Killen attributes much of his success to his teammates. But those teammates, and opponents throughout the league, point to Killen's stellar shot.
"Part of the reason I shoot is to prove something out there," Killen said. "I like to score goals on people who think I can’t do it."
Killen will attempt to continue to prove people wrong this year as he captains a Creighton Prep team that only returns a handful of seniors. Haney believes that Killen, who he describes as his go-to guy on offense and a valuable team leader, is more than up to the challenge.
Though he is undecided about where he will go to college, Killen knows for sure what he wants to study.
"I want to go to med school," Killen said. "It just seems fitting. I’ve been in the hospital so much, why not go back?"