Seeing an athlete fall to the floor of the court or get tackled on the field always sends a wave of anticipation over the crowd. Questions arise of whether or not they will be able to get up or if they have faced any serious injury. Unfortunately, situations like these are often unavoidable when the intensity and competitiveness of sports increase over time.
After competing in only two cheer competitions, the rest of freshman Zoe Babin’s season was taken away from her after an elbow injury. While her season ended sooner than expected, Babin worked through a month and-a-half of physical therapy to regain her strength.
“I was not able to get put back into routine but I was able to start working on skills towards the last week of the season,” Babin said. “Being a team player and wanting to stay around my team and be with them throughout my injury helped me feel like I was still on the mat even though I wasn’t.”
Having a season-ending injury can be not only physically draining, but mentally draining as well. Junior Delaney Emering is a varsity dancer at Antioch Community High School aside from dancing outside of school and waterskiing in the summer. Emerging tore her meniscus twice just months apart from each other and has experienced a long recovery process.
“I had to get surgery and then it was a six month recovery,” Emering said. “At the end of the six months, I tore it again, so I had to get a second surgery with just one month of recovery.”
Being injured allows for athletes to realize that not one moment should be taken for granted. Injuries happen in just the blink of an eye and the long process of recovery can take away the opportunity to play the sports that require countless hours of hard work and dedication.
“Being injured made me realize how much I really love to dance,” Emering said. “Having that taken away from me was not a beneficial experience. So I think just wanting to get back to dance really helped me persevere through the recovery.”
Similarly, junior James Adams is a varsity football and lacrosse player. This past football season, Adams and a teammate both went for a tackle when his teammate’s helmet and shoulder collided with his knee, causing him to tear his meniscus and break his femur. Such a severe injury like this required two surgeries and three months of physical therapy.
“I learned a lot about having to push through the little things like walking [and] getting to school,” Adams said. “What kept me motivated was the fact that I had another season left to play even if there was nothing left for the current season. My injury definitely made me mentally stronger; I had to fight little battles everyday that slowly built me up mentally and physically.”
The most important thing an athlete can do is stay motivated and committed to their love of the sport, even when injuries occur. These three athletes have demonstrated perseverance and dedication to help them push through the difficult times and eventually come out stronger.
