In the world of sports, athletes physically sacrifice their bodies at an intense level for the love of the game, and as a result injuries are a constant challenge on a daily basis. The fall sports teams here at Keene State College have not been an exception and the KSC athletic trainers have been on the front lines to help.
The KSC men’s soccer team has been the largest victim of the “injury bug” recently, as they have lost six starters due to injury after having played only four games so far this season.
The team’s injuries consist of “three concussions, one of which was a head-to-head collision with a player from another team,” Men’s Soccer Head Coach Rick Scott said.
“The other two concussions happened in practice and they were a result of the ball hitting [the players] in the head,” Scott said.
The team also had players suffer from an “MCL sprain, a bone spur on the knee and a couple bad bone bruises,” Scott said.
Surprised by the number of head injuries sustained, Scott said, “We haven’t had that many concussions in a long time. Usually in pre-season you’re going to get a lot of strained muscles, hip flexor and quad strains, typical soccer stuff.”
Senior men’s soccer player Brett Sullivan said he understands the team’s injury situation and the physicality of sports. “It’s just next man up,” Sullivan said. He continued, “Everybody gets hurt eventually, but everybody’s got to be prepared to play regardless.”
KSC sports fans hope the team can improve on its health level as well as its win-loss record as the
Photo Editor / Tim Smith
season progresses, as the team currently holds a record of 2-4. But even with the unfortunate circumstances that currently plague his team, Coach Scott said he has faith in the process and more specifically the athletic training staff here at KSC.
“The concussion protocol here at Keene State is very good, it’s very thorough and it really does protect the athlete, as it should,” Scott said.
He continued, “We’re also very fortunate that our athletic trainers are top shelf. They take care of our guys. My guys trust the athletic trainers. They go in for their treatments when they’re supposed to. They go in for their rehab when they’re supposed to and the trainers really track our athletes.”
Head Field Hockey Coach Amy Watson echoed the same appreciation for the KSC athletic training staff.
“We have a really good training staff. They do a really nice job with getting the athletes back to participation,” Watson said.
It is clear that everything is being done to get our Owl athletes back into playing form this fall sports season from a physical perspective. But, like all forms of adversity, injuries take a psychological and emotional toll and it is up to coaches and teammates to rally together and move forward productively.
Junior women’s volleyball player Brooke Hatanaka is coming off a sophomore season when she tore her ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), one of the most devastating injuries an athlete can suffer from. Hatanaka has a history of ACL injuries, having suffered the same injury early on during her first year of high school. Hatanaka said last year’s injury required surgery and rehab that took her out of the game for a year.
Hatanaka was cleared in July and has been practicing and playing with the team ever since.
With such a difficult mountain to climb, Hatanaka explained her support system during that tumultuous time and how she was able to venture back. She found that her mother was a great influence in providing the care and support she needed.
“My mom tore both her ACL’s and had two orthoscopic knee surgeries,” Hatanaka said, “So she was definitely my person during the entire process both mentally and physically.”
In addition, Hatanaka explained how the power of positivity helped her fight her way back to playing again.
“I believe strongly that hard work and a positive attitude will result in success,” Hatanaka said.
She continued, “I always try to keep a positive attitude and put my best foot forward in everything that I do. So although these injuries were extremely frustrating, I just tried to see positives in the process such as being able to bend my knee, walk, run, jump, etc. All of those examples were milestones throughout my physical therapy.”
As Hatanaka’s teammate, KSC senior and women’s volleyball player Angela Silveri experienced the challenge of having to pick up the pieces and find the strength to move forward as a team.
Silveri explained the importance of roster strength and moral support throughout that process last season.
“Luckily we had other players that had the same skill level so they were able to go right in and do their job,” Silveri said.
Silveri continued, “As a teammate we told her (Hatanaka) it’s better for her to recover, and for the person stepping in we had to constantly reinforce how good of a job they were doing and help them as much as we could.”
In regards to the current trend of injuries that have taken place at the college and professional level, KSC Athletic Trainer Jason Besse took a clinical look at the state of injuries in the sports world and why this trend is occurring.
“Significant injuries have always happened in sports,” Besse said. He continued, “The fitness and the preparation of the body is a big injury factor.”
Besse discussed how exposure to sports at a young age could possibly be the cause of athletes physically eroding over time.
“There’s a pretty big [thing] that’s kind of developing in the medical community about early specialization in sports. If you start playing soccer when you’re eight for example, and that’s all you play for the next twelve years of your life, at some point your body is more likely to break down, on some level. Then you suffer a big injury because your body just can’t handle the wear and tear anymore,” Besse said.
Besse also explained how heavy training on a year-round basis can cause the same effects on the body.
“There’s a huge concern in many sports for the year-round schedule,” Besse said. “Young pitchers are a perfect example. They throw and they throw and they throw, and all of a sudden we’re diagnosing way more UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) problems, which require Tommy John surgery in the most extreme cases.”
Another theory among coaches and athletic trainers is that the playing field may be the cause of some lower body injuries, specifically the use of artificial turf. When asked if a direct connection could be made between fieldturf and injuries.
“It depends on the kind of field turf and the sport being played on it. I’ve seen some research that suggests that some kinds of field turf do contribute more to ACL injuries,” Besse said.
But on the same note, Besse said, “it depends on the factors. Is the field turf good field turf being used for the right sport and installed correctly? Is the grass good grass being cared for properly?” Both questions are of paramount importance when it comes to playing field conditions.
Head men’s soccer Coach Rick Scott weighed in on the turf versus grass debate.
“Grass fields are the best place to be,” Coach Scott said. “Turf can take its toll on you. Over the years, when we played on turf out here, we seemed to have had more injuries, more ACLs, more MCLs. I think if you play on turf all the time, it catches up with you quicker or wears you down quicker than a grass field would.”
While coaches, athletic trainers, teammates and fans alike weather this unforgiving storm of injuries this season, they can all be hopeful that the science of athletics can prevail, and lessen these injuries through proper training, recovery and rehabilitation methods.
Members of the athletics community at all levels on a nationwide scale will try to maintain consistent support for their players and teammates, while journeying forward this season with hopes of great success.
Nick Tocco can be contacted at ntocco@kscequinox.com