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Charles Herbst faces life without his first love

HINSDALE, Ill. – At the corner of 55th and Grant, the unranked Hinsdale Central Red Devils faced the fifth-in-state York Dukes – a less than stellar pairing. All the same, the house was packed. And Charles Herbst could feel the intensity.

In a 58-52 victory in late January 2020, the underdog Red Devils did it, beat their historic rival. Herbst played a pivotal role, finishing with 13 points, 6 steals and 5 assists. 

After the final buzzer, joy should have been his final reaction.

But it wasn’t.

After four meniscus surgeries, that game marked Herbst’s last.

As a high school freshman, Herbst had been projected to play college ball. Then, though, came a succession of knee injuries. A tear in his right meniscus. Three in his left. 

In his teens, he had to learn one of life’s hardest lessons: figuring out who he was. He lost his very first

love. Now he had to open his heart to a second.

It wasn’t always this way. Herbst used to be the one breaking hearts.

With baseball, which he categorized as “every boy’s game” growing up, he ended the relationship. The issue with baseball stemmed from his two eldest brothers’ domination of the sport. 

They both went on to play at the collegiate level.

The competition poisoned what could have been a lifelong love affair.

“I never regretted quitting baseball, because I lost a lot of love for the game as I got older,” said Herbst. “Watching my brothers be so gifted in the sport sucked all the fun out of it for me, because I was constantly compared.”

And, despite an entire team of built-in best friends, he never fully developed feelings for the bases and outfield.

“Baseball was a shared experience. I grew up with those boys, so I miss the dugout, but I didn’t get as much from the game itself,” said Herbst. “But with basketball, there are much more skill differentials that make it so that it changes so much, I was constantly challenged.”

In contrast to the diamond, the baselines were all his.

With basketball, he heard praise. He heard hope of D1 scholarships. For the first time, he heard that he was better than his brothers.

He also heard his knee pop.

An innocent game of tug-of-war turned Herbst’s summer sour going into freshman year. His left knee suffered the consequences. After never suffering from a serious injury before his nerves took over. 

But the clock was in his favor, six months post-surgery he was back and better than ever before. Herbst entered his freshman basketball season with high stats and low-stress levels. 

With his injury behind him, he was invited to play a featured role on a top-five Midwestern AAU team, taking his ball game to new heights.

A sophomore starting on varsity? Unheard of.

Until Herbst. 

Four games into the season, Central played Hinsdale South, giving way to its first home-court advantage. With Christmas just around the corner, the entire Herbst clan headed over to the corner of 55th and Grant to see the youngest of them all sink some layups.

They were one layup too late.

Before the first quarter had even closed, he was in crutches with ice wrapped around his right knee with gauze.

Two months post-tear, his first game back, he tore the same knee again. But this time, he made it his own little secret.

First loves and secrets have one thing in common: they never last.

Sprawled across a cold table, he was wide awake as two holes were carved into the front of his right knee to put a camera inside. His past two tears were lateral.

This was a bucket tear.

Unfazed the third time around, Herbst’s mother, Sarah Herbst, did not share his numbness to the circumstances.

“She knew it meant no more high school season, no more AAU, and no more college basketball like we’d planned, and seeing her so upset was the first time I really realized how much my parents love me,” said Herbst. “She was so sad for my own loss.”

After his most invasive surgery yet, Herbst wasn’t ready to let go of the dream. Stringing along his AAU coaches, he went from saying, “I’ll be back in July,” to “wait until May” and then it was the end of the year and he still wasn’t back.

His love for the game never wavered. He didn’t miss a single game that travel season. He kissed the sideline every weekend.

“I love basketball, I love it, so I spent the summer traveling with them taking down stats with my coach, and I was content being on the road with them instead of sitting at home while my friends who were there just got drunk and did stupid shit,” said Herbst. “At least I got to pretend I was still a part of it all for a little while.”

Despite his high hopes, nothing was the same after that surgery. He lost his speed and overall athleticism. His lateral movement was cut in half. The third time was not the charm.

And then came the fourth tear. A start to his senior year and a close to his basketball career. 

For good.

He spent his summer before college traveling with the team, remaining a team player.

“I felt a responsibility to the team. Whether you’re the best player or the absolute worst, you have an obligation to help in any way you can, so that’s what I did,” said Herbst. “I don’t regret basketball because it gave me the skills that I needed to excel in the future.”

Herbst’s second love is less toxic. The University of Indiana’s Kelley Business School has better communication skills than basketball ever did. It’s not a one-sided relationship.

“Basketball was my first love, and I’ll never regret the time I put into it given what it taught me,” said Herbst. “I truly understand now that you can’t take things for granted, and going forward, I’m going to take every opportunity I can get.”

Some loves are meant to last forever. Others are meant to teach you.