Joe Koshuta (40) earned first-team All-Conference 6 honors in 2014 as a senior linebacker on the Madison football team. Koshuta missed the majority of his junior season after tearing the ACL in his left knee. Photo by Craig Sterbutzel.
Kelly and Joe Koshuta are fraternal twins. Kelly is one minute older than Joe and lets him know about it.
“I remind him,” Kelly said, “every day.”
The siblings share a strong bond, especially when it comes to their love for sports and the adversity they had to overcome to play at the Division I level. Each was a standout athlete at Madison High School Kelly on the basketball court, Joe on the football field before graduating in 2015. Each suffered a torn left ACL Kelly missed her entire sophomore season and Joe missed all but the first half of the first game of his junior year.
While Kelly and Joe suffered setbacks during their high school careers, they each supported one another along the way. Joe had the benefit of witnessing Kelly’s ACL rehab, giving him peace of mind as he worked toward rehabbing his own injury.
After stellar senior seasons at Madison, Kelly and Joe will continue their athletic careers at Virginia Tech. Kelly, a VHSL first-team all-state selection, received a scholarship to play for the women’s basketball team while Joe, a 2014 first-team All-Conference 6 selection, is a preferred walk-on for the Hokie football team.
“We are very close,” Kelly said. “Growing up, we’ve always been competitive in our sports and we’ve always been very supportive of each other.”
Feeling a Pop
Joe felt a pop in his left knee as he sacked the opposing quarterback during the final play of the first half of Madison’s 2013 season opener at Oakton High School.
Koshuta, then a junior linebacker for the Warhawks, led the team in tackles and forced two fumbles during the first half against their Vienna rival, but ended the second quarter with a numb left knee and a feeling of uncertainty.
“I was on the ground,” Koshuta recalled, “and I couldn’t feel my leg.”
An initial test failed to diagnose the problem and Koshuta jogged off the field. During halftime, a test in the training room revealed Koshuta had likely torn his ACL, meaning he would miss the remainder of his junior season a significant season during the college football recruiting process.
It was a devastating blow for Koshuta, who played defensive tackle and guard as a sophomore before moving to his preferred position of linebacker as a junior.
“I started crying,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. I [had] worked so hard my junior year.”
Koshuta joined his teammates on the sideline for the second half. He was using crutches and had ice on his left knee. The injured linebacker would need surgery and months of rehab before he could return to the field. While the process could seem daunting to some, Koshuta had seen firsthand what it took to come back from an ACL tear and was confident he could do it.
Sharing a Bond
Along with being one minute older, Kelly for years held a significant size advantage over her brother. It started at birth, when Kelly weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces, and Joe weighed just 4 pounds, and continued into elementary school.
“She was a giant,” Joe said.
Kelly and Joe grew up as athletes and when they arrived at Madison High School, Kelly was the first to find success at the varsity level. By the time she was a 6-foot-1 freshman, Kelly had already received scholarship offers to play Division I basketball. She went on to average 19.5 points and 10.8 rebounds during her first season with the Madison girls’ basketball team, helping the Warhawks win the 2012 Liberty District championship. Madison would reach the Northern Region semifinals, where the Warhawks lost to West Springfield, falling one victory shy of a state tournament berth.
The following summer, Kelly suffered a torn ACL in her left knee during an AAU game. She missed her entire sophomore season and several colleges revoked their scholarship offers, she said. Then-Madison senior Megan Henshaw also missed the 2012-13 season with an ACL tear, giving Kelly someone close who understood what she was going through.
After tearing her ACL in July of 2012, Kelly had surgery in August and was cleared to play in March of 2013. Six months later, Joe tore the ACL in his left knee during the football team’s season opener.
Kelly was at the game.“My brother is one of the toughest guys I know,” she said. “The fact that he was still on the ground, I knew something was wrong.”
Joe’s Rehab
Joe had ACL surgery a month after his injury. The same surgeon who repaired Kelly’s ACL, Dr. Chris Annunziata, operated on Joe. Kelly’s growth plates were closed, so her ACL reconstruction was done with a graft from her patellar tendon. Joe, who eventually caught up to his sister in size, had open growth plates, so his reconstruction was done with a hamstring graft, giving increased flexibility in the event he grew taller.
A few days after surgery, Joe began working with Sam Kang, a physical therapist with Bodies in Motion, who had also worked with Kelly. After three months, Joe began jogging and lifting light weights.
“It definitely helps when you’re recovering from an ACL [injury],” Kelly said, “to talk to someone who’s been through it.”
Kelly supported Joe during his rehab, but she also took care of business on the court.
Fully recovered, Kelly earned all-state honors as a junior, leading Madison to the region semifinals, where she scored 39 points and grabbed 19 rebounds during a 78-72 loss to Stonewall Jackson and future Division I player Nicole Floyd.
Kelly also committed to Virginia Tech during her junior year one of the schools that maintained its offer during her injury, Kelly said.
Kelly’s success gave Joe even more confidence he could return from his injury.
“I felt very comfortable with everything,” Joe said, “because I knew Kelly came back so strong with both the doctor and the therapist.”
Joe said time away from football made him appreciate the game.
“You never really know how much you miss something until it’s actually gone,” he said. “Ever since I tore my ACL, my senior year, every single practice, every little moment I was working I went 110 percent because I knew any second something bad could happen. ... That’s what I told my teammates: you never know when your last snap is.”
Stellar Senior Seasons
After sitting out nearly his entire junior year and being unable to participate in offseason combines, Joe focused on excelling during his senior season. Now 6 feet 2 and 235 pounds, Joe earned first-team All-Conference 6 honors at linebacker and received all-region honorable mention. After weighing his college options, he decided to join Virginia Tech as a preferred walk-on.
“It was pretty tough,” Joe said, “but I knew if I just worked hard and prepared myself for my senior year I’d find some opportunities.”
Kelly finished her high school career in dominant fashion, earning region Player of the Year, VHSL first-team all-state, and Washington Post All-Met Player of the Year honors while leading the Warhawks to the state semifinals.
Now it’s on to the next challenge. Kelly is already living in Blacksburg and Joe will move down in a few weeks. They will both live in the same dorm as they look to excel at Virginia Tech.
They’ve already proven they can overcome adversity.
“We’re definitely really strong,” Joe said about the twins’ relationship. “We fight like every other siblings ... [but we] communicate a lot [and] help each other with sports [and] school.”