Falzone H Week #7

                                                                               Unexpected Injury

        Being injured during a sports season sucks. There is no better way to describe the feeling than a powerless experience where you are stuck on the sidelines unable to help, assist, and play with your team. You feel useless and wimpy despite the severity of your injury, and many times get upset with yourself for not healing faster. 

     I know this from personal experience. A common misconception about injuries is that they are the result of a major action during your game. You jump in the air, get your feet swept out from under you, land with extreme force, and realize you are badly injured. Sadly, some of the worst injuries happen off of what I like to call “nothing plays”, or every game action that you have done thousands of times before but ended terribly this one time. 

     Tearing my ACL was very upsetting and especially difficult because this was an injury I had prepared for. I had been doing ACL prevention exercises with my coaches since 8th grade and had felt like I was strong enough not to suffer a terrible injury like this one. Unfortunately, just a simple jump and landing, caused my ACL to rip and my season to be over, forcing me into a 9-month long rehab hibernation. Injuries like mine are unpredictable and tend to strike at what may seem like the worst times. Despite the necessity for you to take the time to heal and recover from your injury, many times it feels less like a necessity and more of a burden on you. Many times I have thought about going against protocol and participating in a drill I am not cleared for, or pushing myself to see where my limit is, but the idea of re-injury is haunting. It is scary to think about returning to play and possibly injuring myself but it is also tempting to dive in headfirst and take that risk. 

     The up and downs that come along with being an athlete and in these circumstances resemble a crazy roller coaster ride. One day I may feel like I have everything under control and my knee feels amazing, and the next I feel deep pain and uncertainty surrounding my capability or ability to complete activities and drills. This day-to-day struggle is real and something I am sure anyone with any type of injury can relate to. It is hard to know when to push yourself and when to take it easy. When the pain is real or just in your head. And when your body is telling you to stop or when your mind is. Figuring out when to listen and when to ignore these aches and pains present their own list of challenges. 

     However, I believe these experiences make an athlete better off in the end. They have this experience of having the sport taken away from them highlighting a desire to take every advantage to better their play and keep competing. I have become more passionate and in love with my sports in a way, I wasn't before. Because I saw a taste of reality without playing a sport I have developed a deeper connection to these activities. I believe injuries suck. They feel terrible at the moment and even months later but they make you stronger and give you a perspective that otherwise you wouldn’t have.