For student athletes, one of, if not the greatest joy is to perform well in their sport, and seemingly the flip side and the worst would be underperforming. However, in reality, far worse than having a bad game or match is being cut off from the sport and being completely unable to perform. Injury does not just affect the individual in their athletic lives, but in their personal lives too.
It is hard to make the transition from having constant stimulation from practices, trainings and school work to having empty free time, lacking that constant motivation and improvement. This can greatly affect one’s mental health, especially those serious about playing in the collegiate setting or any athletes who have to deal with the pressure, put on by others or even themselves.
NDB Student-Athlete Junior Hannah Algussain remarked, “Not being able to do the things that brought me so much happiness and comfort because of my injury really took a toll on my mental health as my outlets were taken away from me.” As explained, it is a great learning period for a plethora of issues, from moving in a broken body to finding ways to keep healthy to understanding oneself to building new supports, all the while, having seven hours of school each day to focus on.
“However, having to go through the surgery and rehab process taught me so many lessons and made me realize how I needed to start appreciating the little things in life and take nothing for granted because nothing is forever,” said Algussain.
The lessons learned, especially for such driven athletes like Algussain, are clear, no matter what the downsides may be. However, it must be understood the great difficulty to go through these hardships, especially when they are only recently properly represented throughout social media, and the media in general.
Many athletes don’t just have the stress of the injury but also the pressure of getting back into the sport, especially during the season.
“Getting an injury during your sport’s season, especially not being able to train for many weeks and then going straight back into the sport, can be very hard,” explained Freshman Lizzy Scott. “But at NDB, there are many resources to help you out and the coaches want what is best for you.”
The understanding and support from coaches, teammates and friends really makes all the difference for them as people, not just as athletes. The sport is such a big part of one’s life, especially for such dedicated athletes, and taken so seriously that a major change in performance means a major change in lifestyle and mindset.