South’s Athletic Department sees thousands of student injuries each year, Anthony Catsaros, Head Athletic Trainer, said. Athletes in high school commonly face injuries because their bodies are still developing, Castaros said. These athletes can overcome injuries through rehab and sometimes surgery, Catsaros added.
Every year, roughly 5.2 million high school athletes get injured—37 percent of those are sprains or strains, and 22 percent are concussions, but over 1 million high school athletes face season-ending injuries per year, according to The National Library of Medicine. Junior Declan Quinn, Boys’ Varsity Hockey Player, suffered an injury in pre-season.
“I knew right away,” Quinn said. “I’ve never felt something that drastic. I could feel everything—I felt mini pops and the tear.”
Through a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan, Quinn found out he tore his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), and partially tore his meniscus—a piece of cartilage between the knee and femur, Quinn said. He underwent surgery to repair the tear, Quinn said.
“When I saw my teammate score the first goal at the first game after my injury, I realized that was something I would not do the entire season—that is when reality set in,” Quinn said.
Post-surgery, Quinn kept pushing himself through recovery in hopes of playing in the school’s spring season, but as the winter hockey season progressed, he learned he could help off the ice just as much as on.
“I started to see I could lead without playing and I could help my teammates without having a presence on the ice,” Quinn said.
Sophomore Jackie Botvinnik, JV Flag Football and Girls’ Varsity Hockey Player, sustained a concussion playing hockey after taking a hit, she said.
“I actually did not realize I was injured at first, because I had adrenaline keeping me going,” Botvinnik said. “Once I realized, I was shocked and terrified, because I knew that if I got another concussion, I would have to be done with my sports. I was scared about what that meant for my future.”
Returning to flag football and hockey was a slow process for Botvinnik as she could only run short distances at first—but as the fall season progressed, she was able to recover.
“It was really difficult to go to school and keep going through life after,” Botvinnik said. “I had a really hard time finding motivation to do anything.”
The concussion was a huge setback that caused brain fog and nausea, Botvinnik said. Slowly, Botvinnik learned to take life day by day and appreciate the little things.
“It helped me to find who I want to be and how I want to treat other people,” Botvinnik said. “It helped me to decide how I wanted to live my life and the things I wanted to prioritize, including my school work and family.”
Junior Emma Klatt, Girls’ JV Tennis Player, found that while she was injured, she could help others undergoing similar things and help prevent other athletes from injuries. Klatt spoke at the EmpowerHER conference, held to encourage female students in athletics, after injuring her ACL and Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL)—ligament that connects the femur and tibia—during a tennis match, Klatt said.
“Tearing your ACL is such a horrible injury, but it is so common—especially in women,” Klatt said. “My injury changed my perspective because unless you have been seriously injured in the past, you do not understand what someone who is injured might be going through.”