Sometimes it’s fate that grabs you by the ankle and twists it the wrong way. Sometimes it’s just a freak accident. But in most cases it is just part of being an athlete. True athletes are certainly no stranger to physical injuries. But more importantly, with that physical pain often comes the equally unintended side order of emotional pain.

For many high school athletes all over the world, their seasons are being abruptly ended due to a variety of injuries. Injuries are often inevitable for high school athletes. They are growing while putting their body through strenuous activity almost every day. No matter how much an athlete stretches and incorporates those rest days, their body is naturally bound to feel the effects of all the physical activity at some point in a sports career. 

The only unfortunate thing is that these injuries can keep athletes from the sport they love much longer than one would think. While athletes are usually told to sit out for a certain period of time, weather that’s one week or four, most athletes still don’t consider all the time after that where they start to slowly reintegrate back into the game. Many mistakes that athletes also make is they don’t give their body enough time to truly heal and recover. With the eager desire to play, most athletes try to jump right back in from where they started and just end up hurting themselves again, sometimes even worse. 

It is difficult to tell an athlete at any level they can’t play, not only because that is keeping them from doing something they enjoy, but also because of the mental effect it can have on them. Sports are an outlet for many high school kids, something to get them away from hustle of school, work, and their at home life. Without that outlet, many kids can fall into a downward spiral of emotional and behavioral issues.

“It can be really tough for an athlete going through an injury, especially in season. Sometimes they’ve been training all off season to play and all of a sudden that is taken from them. They want to be with the team but they have to be at doctor appointments, or physical therapy or they can’t travel due to injury, etc. It can be isolating, frustrating and depressing,” explained Melissa Rosenberger, athletics trainer at North Penn High School.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) wrote an article about emotional responses that are commonly seen amongst athletes at any level when suffering from an injury. Some of the responses included sadness, lack of motivation, anger, frustration, and more (NCAA Injury Mental health affects). 

Last year, after the 2021 high school soccer season, North Penn junior Irene Tulik suffered from a partial ACL tear with her club soccer team. Most people know that ACL tears are one of the hardest injuries to come back from. They are an athlete’s worst nightmare with the requirement of surgery and a nine month recovery period, in most cases even longer. Irene was forced to sit out for her entire club season and was only able to play a certain number of minutes each game at the beginning of her high school season. 

“I’ve had multiple little injuries my whole life playing soccer but partially tearing my ACL has been the hardest to bounce back from mentally and physically,” Tulik said. 

Sitting on the sidelines for many months definitely put a strain on her mental health and challenged her when it came to staying positive. 

“It is incredibly frustrating watching others improve individually and as a team while you can’t. I think one of the most difficult things still is trying to remember how far I’ve come even if it’s not my best,” Tulik reflected.  

While Tulik is back to playing full games and gets to participate in the rest of her high school soccer season, it was certainly a long journey to get here. Now most athletes aren’t forced to sit the bench as long as Tulik, shorter injuries take just as much of a mental toll.     

Cross country athlete Ava Warner is also feeling the effects mentally of having to take a seat next to her team. Warner has been battling with lingering shin splints that turned into a stress fracture. Although her stress fracture is healed, she still battles with shin splints. But Warner finds the pain of the shin splints just as difficult to bear with as the mental pain of not being able to run. 

“Having to sit out at times during both the track and cross country season has made the mental part so much more difficult,” Warner said. 

Last year, Ava had an incredible performance throughout the cross country season which led her to compete in states. This year has posed many obstacles with her shin splints and being able to compete at the same level she did last year is one of them. 

“Coming back from my injury is still a struggle. I try everyday to stay positive for my mental state whether that be at practice or during a race. I really rely on the support of my teammates to keep me positive so that I can finish the races,” Warner explained.  

While mental health awareness is on the rise in schools and in general, it is more important than ever to consider other places that mental health issues could arise. Injured athletes is often an overlooked place because many are too focused on helping the athlete recover physically. But what about mentally? Having someone you can talk to when missing out on a sports season is important, and it is essential to remember to always make sure that athletes are cared for not only physically, but mentally as well.  

“My advice for an athlete struggling with an injury would be to remain part of the team as much as possible. Follow the instructions of your doctor, PT or athletic trainer…they have your best interest in mind. Work hard to return, based on those recommendations set by your medical providers and utilize your athletic trainers.  We are here to help you, your goals are our goals too! And keep your head up; staying positive is going to help you get back stronger and faster,” Rosenberger added.