Sports season is here, and all student-athletes are working really hard around this time to compete, go to state, and really put forth their best effort in different games.
While these athletes are practicing every day and training for whatever sport they are in it’s so easy for injuries to occur. This can be very nerve-wracking for a student athlete, and knowing that they possibly can’t play from an injury can put their mental health at risk.
“Being a student-athlete isn’t always the easiest thing in the world. At times the sport and coaches can really impact your mental and physical health especially after a life-changing injury,’’ said Senior Kylie Wells, who’s starred on the girls basketball team since her freshmen year.
Wells is the captain of the girls basketball team and throughout her time playing, she’s experienced a lot of ups and downs including a serious injury to her achilles’ tendon two seasons ago.
“My recovery process has definitely gotten a lot better, but you will always know deep down inside you will never play the same again because of fear of hurting yourself again,” she said. “However, the motivation that really kept me going was my mom, grandparents, and God. They really helped me through the hardest time of my life by encouraging me and just telling me to still make the best out of life because you will heal.’’
Wells said the key to recovering is not to lose sight of your goal.
“Some days will be really hard, but then other days will be easy but always make sure you stay levelheaded and positive about everything. Also, it’s amazing to have a really good support system like family and God to always get you through the bad days.’’
Angelica Gutierrez is currently recovering from a broken ankle.
“We were practicing in the field house and I had the ball and I guess I was running with it too quickly and my ankle went too far to the left and ended up snapping and making a cracking noise. I was so scared and I knew something was wrong at that moment.”
Despite missing the end of the season, Gutierrez has tried to keep an optimistic attitude.
“It’s really difficult trying to recover after an injury,” she said. “The mental and physical part of it is really draining, and you can get so caught up in comparing yourself to others during the process. At times you can also get caught up in being sad, but as for me I quickly caught myself being resilient, and kept a good head on my shoulder by just praying and simply talking to friends and family about it.’’
Her advice to others in similar situations is to take it easy.
“Take your time healing because there is no rush,” she said. “It’s simply just your body telling you to relax and have time to heal, so just make sure you keep getting up every day with a positive attitude because you will play again.”
