The 17-year-old spends much of his time playing football and lacrosse, working out, snowboarding and finding any excuse to be outdoors. Over the years, however, injuries have become a recurring part of his story, teaching him that recovery is about much more than healing.
Kort's first experience with Shriners Children's came in 2021 after a football game at recess left him with a pulled patellar tendon and a fractured piece of bone in his right knee. After being referred to Shriners Children's Northern California’s fracture clinic, he spent 12 weeks in a cast. Despite the challenge, the experience left a positive impression on both Kort and his mother, Beth.
During football practice in the summer of 2024, Kort partially tore his ACL. He tried to keep playing, but during the first game of the season, the ligament tore completely.
What followed became the most demanding recovery of his life.
Before surgery, Kort began “pre-hab” with physical therapist Mark Quan-Tong, PT, DPT. For four months, they worked twice a week to strengthen the muscles around his knee. Neither Kort nor Beth realized how important that preparation would be.
After surgery during Christmas break, the benefits were clear.
“Pre-hab was a game changer,” Beth said. “It cut off weeks of physical therapy after the surgery.”
Even so, recovery required patience. Progress came in small steps, from regaining range of motion to improving balance, stability and strength. As the exercises became more demanding, Kort’s confidence grew.
As he worked toward returning to sports, Kort completed a return-to-sports test in Shriners Children's motion analysis center, where specialists evaluated his movement mechanics to assess whether he was fit to get back on the field.
For someone who loved video games and once dreamed of becoming a video game animator, seeing his movements transformed into digital models was especially exciting.
Shriners Children’s gave me the confidence to do my best to get back on the field.
Today, Kort is focused on the future.
He recently added lacrosse to his athletic resume and continues to spend much of his free time training, working out and staying active. He has yet to complete a full football season without an injury, but he remains optimistic that this year will be different.
Aside from sports, he is considering colleges outside of California and has developed an interest in forestry, climate science and environmental studies.
“I’ve seen tremendous growth in him over the past several years,” Beth said. “Sports have helped him build confidence, friendships and resilience, and overcoming multiple injuries has only strengthened those qualities.”
The family remains involved with Shriners Children's through the Patient Ambassador program, where Kort shares his story at events.
“Shriners Children’s gave me the confidence to do my best to get back on the field,” he said.
