Sophie Shaw was told three weeks ago that she would be a coin toss ambassador for the Chiefs game on Dec. 1. Ever since, Shaw said she has been excited for the day to arrive.

“I am super excited and I am insanely stoked to be apart of this whole thing,” Shaw said. 

Shaw said this honor is due to her recovery from her shoulder surgery, which she had on Jan. 15. 

After having dislocated her shoulder, for the third time, during basketball practice in November, Shaw said she decided to see a professional to see what could be done to fix her shoulder, which ultimately lead to her having surgery. 

Shaw describes her recovery as being tough and said how, at times, it was painful. 

“Once I came out of the surgery, it was a slow and painful recovery,” Shaw said. “I really wasn’t sure how I would come back from it.” 

Shaw said her recovery lasted for about six months, which had a great impact on her mobility and attitude. 

Shaw’s mother, Kristy Shaw, said although Shaw’s rehab was long, it ended up being shorter than anticipated. 

Kristy said that watching her daughter go through surgery and then rehab was very difficult. 

“We kept trying to keep her busy, [but] she just wanted to do her normal stuff, so it was really hard to watch her go through all of that,” Kristy said. 

Despite the hardships she encountered, Kristy said Shaw stayed positive throughout her rehab, which people, specifically the University of Kansas Health systems, noticed. In fact, Kristy believes that Shaw was chosen to be an honorary coin toss ambassador due to her positive outlook on her shoulder surgery. 

Shaw will be an honorary coin toss ambassador for the Chiefs on Dec. 1, which is when the Chiefs will be hosting Play 60, a program that encourages kids to stay active and be positive. 

“KU Health Systems figured that Sophie’s story would inspire kids to keep active even when you have a setback and to keep a positive mindset,” Kristy said. 

Along with being an honorary coin toss ambassador for the Chiefs, Shaw will also be interviewed on KCTV 5 on Nov. 27. This interview will then be played during the third quarter of the Chiefs game against the Raiders. 

Kristy finds it extraordinary that Shaw will be receiving this award, especially because neither one of them ever considered it as a possibility. 

“She never ever would have thought that she would be [an honorary coin toss ambassador] at the Chiefs game,” Kristy said.  

Along with her mom, Shaw is excited and surprised to be receiving this honor, but above all else, Shaw said she hopes to represent BVNW and the University of Kansas Health Systems well while at the Chiefs game.  

After this event takes place and the excitement around it dies down, Shaw believes she will be able to take away valuable lessons from the overall experience. 

“[When] it is over, I will be able to look back on it and see how much I have gone through and how much has come out of it,” Shaw said.  

As for advice Shaw has for other athletes receiving surgery or recovering from an injury, Shaw said that it is important for them to focus on their rehab, push through the difficult times and always have hope for the future. 

“If you have hope in the future, things will go your way eventually, you just gotta have hope through the rough times,” Shaw said.