Injuries are a hassle for anyone, but for student athletes, they can be devastating and potentially cost them a whole season of their five years of eligibility.
Growing up playing at a fairly high level of minor baseball, my worst injury happened on my 15th birthday on a sunny June day in Waterdown, Ont.
Playing left field, I ran at full speed toward the infield and right into the back of our shortstop’s head, cutting open my face in the process and giving myself a nice concussion.
At the end of the day though, I caught the ball and remember almost nothing at all except the song “School” by Nirvana playing on the radio in my dad’s car on the way to the hospital
But let’s get to the injures Gee-Gees athletes have faced.
“My worst injury was in my last year in CEGEP,” said Gee-Gees football player Michael Baray in a message to the Fulcrum. ”I decided to transition to linebacker and during spring camp, in the middle of a play, somebody got pancaked and his helmet landed on my knee.”
“My knee bent a perfect 90-degree angle to the side and the feeling of my PC (posterior cruciate) ligament stretching to the max like an elastic band is unforgettable,” said Baray. “At the moment, I thought my football days were over and I was screaming, not caring what people thought. My coach came to me and told me to shut up because I was scaring people. So I did.”
“Trainers told me it might be mostly an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) but the MRI result showed a partially sprained PCL and MCL (medial collateral ligament) which was good news for me,” he added.
“I worked through that patiently and it taught me to better take care of my body by doing small things so I would never feel those types of injuries again,” said Baray.
Other athletes, such as women’s basketball guard Brooklynn McAlear-Fanus, have been lucky with injuries and have only sustained minor setbacks.
“My worst injury was a sprained ankle,” said McAlear-Fanus in a message to the Fulcrum.
Meanwhile, Wahid Hamidi’s worst injury came in a game against Queen’s University when the U of O rugby player attempted a tackle.
“I went in for a tackle and dislocated my shoulder (anterior dislocation)!” said Hamidi. “As soon as I made the tackle I could feel it hanging, and the pain became worse when I tried to pop it back in the socket minutes later.”
Ultimate frisbee is not usually a sport one thinks about when they think of gruesome injuries but Cassandra Jaffray can testify to the opposite.
“The worst type of injury I’ve had from playing frisbee has been general knee trauma causing repeated meniscal tears in my knee,” said Jaffray. “The first time when I was 16, a girl’s knee collided with the inside of my knee while it was fully extended and again when I was 21 a girl dove to catch a frisbee and her shoulder collided with the outside of my knee.”
“Because of the repeated trauma and multiple surgeries to remove and fix meniscus tears, I’ve recently had to have a meniscus transplant surgery,” said Jaffray.
Many injuries are easily preventable if athletes have a proper warmup routine as well as a planned stretching schedule. A good diet and enough sleep are also important for any athlete.
Read More:
- Sports Confessional: Gee-Gees dish on their favourite pre-game meals
- Sports Confessional: Superstitions
- Gee-Gees pull major upset over No. 1 ranked Ravens in Capital Hoops Classic
