Just over two years ago, Drew Beckie thought he had timed his jump to European professional soccer just right.
The league that the former Arapahoe and DU star was playing in had just folded, and he signed a tentative contract with KuPS FC of the Veikkausliiga — Finland’s top circuit. But the diagnosis of a rare condition, myocarditis, derailed those plans. Beckie’s fight against that heart condition, and his journey back to the pitch, are profiled in a documentary called “Still Defending” that will be released this week.
“I was in Sweden (in December 2017) before I was supposed to go back to training in Finland, and I had a heart problem one morning,” Beckie said. “It was cardiac arrest due to a virus, which caused myocarditis. I was in the hospital in Sweden for about two weeks, and I was told I probably wouldn’t be allowed to play again because my heart wasn’t strong enough to sustain any sort of workload.”
The documentary, which can be accessed starting Thursday at stilldefendingdoc.com, dives into Beckie’s return. The 29-year-old defender, who is entering his second season playing for the El Paso Locomotive of the USL Championship, had to “do literally nothing” for about six months while undergoing treatment and recovery, first at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville and then in Denver.
When he finally did return to action in May 2018, it was for the same Jacksonville Armada team he had played for before — only now, the team was in a different, semi-pro league. Beckie made just $1,000 a month and, while staying at an apartment the team provided, contemplated the legitimacy of his comeback.
“When you’ve had a heart problem, clubs don’t want to take a chance on you and sign you to a good contract, because you might not be able to play again,” Beckie said. “It was a struggle in my mind of whether I really wanted to come back and if it financially was a smart decision.”
Beckie worked as a car salesman and valet to make ends meet and help pay off his medical bills in Sweden. By June of 2018, he signed with the Oklahoma City Energy. The brother of Janine Beckie, an ex-Valor Christian standout striker who currently plays for the Canadian Women’s National Team and Manchester City women, Drew played a year in Oklahoma City before getting traded to El Paso last year.
The Regina, Saskatchewan, native said his main motivation for participating in the documentary was to spread awareness and courage.
“I don’t want empathy or a pity party, but I wanted people to understand this sort of (scary adversity) can happen to anybody at any time,” Beckie said. “It was a struggle to come back. I lost 35 pounds and physically and mentally I wasn’t in a great state… But I’m back doing what I love now, and whether it’s a virus or someone has cancer, whatever it is, maybe my story can will someone to come back and get healthy again.”
