THE PSYCHOLOGY OF COPING WITH INJURIES: WHAT EVERY SPORTS PARENT NEEDS TO KNOW
I want to follow up and continue from last Sunday’s discussion of what parents and coaches can say or do when it comes to trying to help their athlete cope with an injury that suddenly takes them out of the games and puts them on the sidelines.
We had just gotten into a conversation about this topic last week when we ran out of time.
But judging from the response I received over the last few days, this is an issue that is of real concern to sports parents – especially when their athlete has hopes and dreams of being recruited for college to play sports.
Among the various issues, what can a HS athlete do when he’s eager to show his or her talents to college coaches – and suddenly, the youngster gets hurt….maybe an ACL…or a torn labrum…or a concussion. We all know that physical injuries can come in all different forms….but what does the athlete do when he or she has to confront it?
Do they tell prospective college coaches about their injury? Will college coaches become more iffy about recruiting the kid? If a scholarship offer has already been made, is the college still obligated to keep that in force?
But more than that, what about the athlete him or herself? They all know that they have only so many years to play HS sports….and now their season is derailed by an injury.
How do they cope with that? How do you, as a parent, cope with that? For example, we all know that females are between 4-5 times more likely to tear an ACL more than men. Look at any women’s college soccer team and chances are that half of them are wearing knee braces. And kids who undergo Tommy John surgery on their arms as teens? The full recovery is only about 75%.
So how do these athletes cope with knowing their athletic career could be derailed due to an injury?
Let’s start with the psychology of being hurt.
If you’re a parent, if your son or daughter has been hurt in their sport to the point where they have to sit out several weeks due to an injury, you know first hand how difficult it can be to keep your kids’ spirits up.
As noted, It could be pretty much any kind of injury that keeps your kid out of the line-up on game day, and from practicing during the week. And if the injury involves surgery, chances are the kid is going to be out for the season, first undergoing the surgery, and then having to go through multiple sessions of physical therapy.
Instead of focusing on the big game coming up, now suddenly they find themselves at home, recuperating from surgery and trying to figure out what will happen next in their sports career.
Coping with an injury can trigger all sorts of concerns for your athlete and you need to know that…..will they get better? How long will it take? How will I know when I’m good to go? How do I react with my teammates and coaches? Do I still go to practice, even though I know I can’t play?
These are the kinds of basic and troubling questions that ALL injured kids wonder about, but unfortunately, they really aren’t offered much in the way of guidance. Just a few pats on the back, and they’re told to get better soon. That is, the focus is more on the physical aspects of the injury, rather than on the psychology of what the kid is experiencing.
Young athletes can get angry, depressed, or even non-communicative as the team and their teammates move on with the excitement of the season -- and they’re suddenly on the sidelines through no fault of their own.
As a parent, what do you do? What do you say? Just offer the youngster bland comments like, “Don’t worry – you’ll be into action soon.”
The truth is, when your kid gets injured and can’t play, It’s really hard for everyone involved. And of course, injuries aren’t something you can ever plan for….they just happen. And then your kid’s life is turned upside down. We had some very perceptive calls and comments on the show this AM. Take a listen: https://www.audacy.com/wfan/podcasts/rick-wolff-the-sports-edge-209/the-sports-edge-with-rick-wolff-1010803700