Aug 31, 2017 By Eleanor Bailey 5 min read

Call him the comeback kid. For Aidan Cain has surmounted several setbacks and finally played his first varsity athletic competition at Mt. Lebanon High School.

“Personally, I am so excited for him,” Lebo football coach Mike Melnyk said. “To see him hit the field and play like he’s capable of playing, well you couldn’t be happier or more impressed with this young man. He’s a special story.”

An avid athlete, who played all sports: basketball, baseball and football; ever since his pre-school years, Cain’s hard-luck saga started his sophomore year.

During a scrimmage against West Allegheny, Cain ran a route up the middle. The ball was thrown behind him and when he went back to catch it his left leg twisted in the wrong direction and gave out. Cain immediately jumped up and jogged off the field.

“I didn’t think it was serious,” said the 6-2, 170-pound wide receiver. “I can’t say it hurt.”

The next day, however, Cain woke up with a stiff knee. He couldn’t walk. Lebo trainer Rob Dingle suggested he get an MRI. The scan revealed an ACL tear and Dr. James Bradley from the Pittsburgh Steelers performed the surgery.

After an extensive rehab, Cain was ready for the baseball season. He played centerfield on the junior varsity. However, during a 7-on-7 passing competition at Moon, after being pushed off his stride by a linebacker, he hyperextended his left knee. Cain knew immediately it was the ACL but it was “10 times” worse.

“It was the most painful thing,” he said.

While Cain wondered how could this happen again because he had never been injured before, he didn’t ask “why me?” He just chalked it up to bad luck.

“I definitely didn’t see it coming,” he said. “With any major injury, an athlete doesn’t think it can happen to him.”

What happened next appeared to be the answer for Cain’s woes.

An avid skier, Cain learned that the Steadman Clinic in Colorado healed many athletes, including those on the United States Olympic teams. So he went there. This time, Dr. Matthew Provencher, who had been Chief of Sports Medicine Service at Massachusetts General Hospital and Medical Director and Head Team Physician for the NFL Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots, performed his surgery in mid-July, heading into his junior year.

While his first rehab took 5-6 months, his second stint required more time, up to a year. In fact, Cain spent two months in Vail. He didn’t play football, basketball or baseball his junior year.

“This time was definitely a lot harder,” he admitted, but added it was the right thing to do. “It’s just my nature not to take ‘no’ for an answer.”

Before Cain knew it, he was again participating in 7-on-7 drills and competitions, which Mt. Lebanon dominated this spring. He had a clean training camp.

Then came his breakout game against Fox Chapel on Aug. 25. In his first varsity appearance, Cain caught 11 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns in the Blue Devils’ triumph, 32-27, against the Foxes.

“It was surreal,” Cain said. “Eighteen months of tough rehab just to get back onto the field on Friday nights and it finally happened. I didn’t really expect it but I had hoped for a good game. Really, I could not have asked for something that good.”

The performance was everything Melnyk expected and the Lebo skipper could not be more thrilled for Cain.

“He is a great kid and showed everyone else what he can do,” Melnyk said. “Aidan is so determined. He doesn’t give up. He’s finally healthy.

Melnyk noted Cain is a three-sport athlete, but one who had never played a varsity high school down, quarter or inning.

“So you can’t be anything but happy for him,” he said. “You hope he continues to have a great senior season.”

Cain certainly has had a great start. He said his first catch, which went for a 55-yard gain, was “thrilling” but he added it wasn’t a “feeling like anything crazy” because he had a catch right after that. And another. And another until the receptions added up to almost a dozen.

“The first was the best for me The coolest,” he remarked because it was his first varsity touchdown ever. “And, the second was big, too, because we took the lead.”

For Cain, that’s what it’s all about. While personally, he says that he would like to play football in college somewhere, his primary objective is to help Lebo win a WPIAL championship.

“No,” he said, “I don’t have any numbers in mind (for myself) statistically. I’ll do whatever the team needs me to do.”

Because the Blue Devils need him to play defense, Cain starts at free safety. He describes the position as ” being the centerfielder” of the football team.

Now that he is better, Cain says he never stops to think about his knee. He takes extra precautions such as stretching “a lot” before workouts and games. Plus, he trains and weight lifts to maintain strength and progress. He feels his knee is 100 percent.

“It feels really good,” he said. “It feels like it never ever happened.”

Now that he is active again, Cain is hoping that he never ever has to give up playing again. He intends to play in college and because of his 4.0 GPA, Ivy League schools are courting him.

“I want to play in college. It’s not just the knee injury,” he said, adding it’s because he always wanted to play at a higher level. “I love playing football and I wanted to keep playing. Every game is special to me.”