Everyday an athlete takes a risk. Everyday another injury is reported. Everyday a door opens or closes due to a sprain, a strain, or something worse.
Almost one-third of childhood injuries are sports related, but how much do injuries affect student athletes?
“I had a fractured collar bone,” junior Zavian Williams said.
Williams’s njury wasn’t the only set back for the JV football team. Junior Cam’Rhan Jones broke his leg during the third game of the season.
Injuries don’t stop at nerves, with senior Tyler Holmes experiencing sciatica nerve damage, which is a pinched nerve from your back to your foot.
Oftentimes, these injuries come with a pressure load.
“It was mentally exhausting,” Holmes said. “I was very upset and sad when I realized I couldn’t play anymore.
And then there are physical tolls.
“I lost a lot of weight, I couldn’t do nothing on my own,” Jones said.
And the after effects linger. Not working out caused Williams to lose his speed.
Physical set backs weren’t the only losses.
“I didn’t get recruited the way I should’ve,” Holmes said.
When people think of injuries, they only think of the negative sides. How about the positives?
Depending on the injury Jones mentions the perks of taking trips to the training room during the school day, leaving class earlier to avoid the rush of the hallways, and having access to the elevator to ease transitions.
There are modified and less strenuous workouts, but not losing sight of being a part of the team and celebrate victories with the team.and then the bigger picture comes into focus.
“I understand what it means to be healthy and I’m grateful for it,” Holmes said.
