Mt. Pleasant senior thrives after battling through career-threatening hip problem

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, October 11, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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The thought of ending his soccer career pervaded Luke Domasky’s mind at the start of the season.

Many nights, he soaked in his family’s hot tub and pondered his next move.

The Mt. Pleasant senior was not sure if he could be as effective after his junior season fell short of his expectations. He certainly had his reasons, though.

After all, his body had undergone a major change after he endured a hip osteotomy, a procedure that reshaped and realigned his left hip, in the summer after his sophomore year.

He was born with the misaligned hip, which grew worse over time, shifting slowly and making it difficult to sit. Had he not had surgery, he could have faced permanent damage and potentially had trouble walking. Soccer would have been out of the question.

“I sat down and had a heart-to-heart (talk) with coach (Floyd Snyder),” Domasky said. “I decided to play. I was scared to get hit or have contact last year. I didn’t want that to happen again this year.”

Floyd and the Vikings are glad Domasky made, in their minds, the best decision possible.

“I told him, ‘You’re not letting anyone down, especially with as much as you have been through,’” Snyder said. “But it would have been a tough hill to climb without him. I told him, ‘You went through all of this to play.’ It gave him the opportunity.

“There is a lot of resiliency in that kid.”

A forward, Domasky seemingly has overcome any further reservations. He sprints and kicks the ball with added confidence, trusting in the understructure that is his new hip.

“I’m pretty impressed,” Domasky said, sheepishly. “I had some rough nights. I felt like quitting. But it feels good to be out there.”

Domasky had nine goals through 13 games for the Vikings (11-3). He has played 65-70 minutes in some games, while toning it down substantially in others when the Vikings were well in control.

His discomfort started when he was 10.

“I had the normal wear and tear from soccer, and, by my freshman year, I could really feel the pain,” Domasky said. “I couldn’t turn sometimes, and I couldn’t plant on that side.”

Initially ruled growing pains, the Domasky family sought second, third and many more opinions to find the cause of his problems.

Multiple visits to a number of doctors — “You know how mothers are,” Domasky said. “They won’t accept the first answer” — eventually led Domasky to an expert surgeon at UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.

“He said he had never seen (a hip) like this before,” Domasky said. “They basically popped my hip out and cut it before they put it back in place.”

The surgery was Aug. 5, 2021. Domasky already had missed time during the covid-plagued 2020 season when he was a freshman, and the surgery cost him his sophomore year of soccer.

“I couldn’t touch a ball until January,” he said. “They said I couldn’t play again for six months.

“I am glad I had the surgery, and I am glad I to decided to play.”

He had a goal in his first game back last year, against Yough.

“Everyone was cheering,” he said.

He still likes to sit in the hot tub and think about his journey to get to this point.

“My teammates come over,” he said. “We call them hot tub practices.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Mt. Pleasant