High school students are encouraged to play a sport or two for their benefits on physical health and social skills. However, athletes face more and more injuries as their coaches push them to their full potential.

Lacrosse midfielder Logan Thompson (10) tore her ACL on the lacrosse team’s first tournament of the season on Feb. 25, 2023.

“[A] girl on the other team pushed me and my knee bent to the side,” Thompson said. “I heard a pop and I fell to the ground.”

Thompson regularly attends physical therapies for her injuries and does stretches at home but surgery will be required. In the meantime, Thompson still attends practices and games to support her team. 

“[My teammates] make me feel included on the sidelines when I am watching the games and it [feels] like I’m still playing and part of the team,” Thompson said. 

Thompson’s coaches want her to focus on getting better and then decide whether or not she wants lacrosse to still be part of her life, but Thompson already made her choice.

“When I recover I’m going to start playing again,” Thompson said.

Rugby player Jaylon Jones (12) sprained his AC joint, the connection of the shoulder to the collar bone, in his very first game against Christian Brothers.

“The craziest part is I didn’t think [the injury] was as major as it was,” Jones said. “When it first happened, I was ready to get back in the game.”

Quickly Jones’s coach pulled Jones out of the game and prevented the sprain from getting any worse. As a result of the injury, he is out of the season until his doctor clears him.

“I was really down, especially [when I was] sitting in the doctors and them telling me that I have to wear a cast for three weeks,” Jones said. “Seeing everybody else out there doing what I should be doing, but [what] I literally can’t, hurt me.”

In addition to the mental challenges,, the injury brought physical challenges to Jones since he now has to do his daily routines with one hand.

“It’s a real drag because everything that’s easy with two hands is difficult when you have limited mobility like putting my socks on or taking a shower,” Jones said.

Like Thompson, Jones still goes out to practices and games to support his team. Jones was the captain of the game when he hurt his AC joint, and his motivation to continue showing up for the team comes from his passion to encourage and inspire other players.

“My main reason to keep playing, besides just loving the sport, is that I want to set a good example for those younger guys who are coming up and who are going to be in my position at some point,” Jones said. “I want them to be able to say that they had someone they looked up to.”

Runners Joshua Robinson (10) and Eli Jacobs (10) experienced muscle strains, which is a small tear in the muscle caused by overtraining or running too hard than they used to.

“I overworked myself,” Robinson said. “When I first started hurdling, it was a new thing to me and when I try something new I want to push to get as good and as fast as [I can].”

Even though some coaches push their players to the max, some prevent such injuries from getting worse by minimizing the intensity of effort for exercises or even giving them a break until they recover.

“My coach is especially big on making sure that we are okay so when I tell him how I am feeling, he knows [that] I need to take time off or if I need to do a separate workout that is not as intense,” Robinson said.

Jacobs is now out of the season because the sharp pain in his hip recurs every time he runs.

“You can’t enjoy it much [anymore] because you can’t associate the running with the pain,” Jacobs said. “I haven’t run since November.”

Nevertheless, motivated players who are physically able and mentally determined come back to the season stronger than ever. 

“I have been playing rugby through thick and thin and hit my head more times than I can count so this is just a little road speed bump for me,” Jones said. “It’s not even a thought, I know I’m getting back as soon as I can.”