Injuries in HS or otherwise:

softgabby · May 19, 2018

Cannonball said:
I am so sorry. I was hoping I was wrong. I've coached for a very long time and so, I kind of knew I might be right. Now, the good news. Your knees will get a chance to heal up some. You can run distance and sprints and get/keep in playing shape. You can also demonstrate leadership to your TB team by being the go to person for your team when someone needs help with something. You can get a different perspective of how coaches think by watching them. In fact, if you get good at this and as a catcher, you will be even more of an asset to your team.

Per being injury prone, you are a catcher. It comes with the territory. If you weren't, there would be something wrong with you. Most catchers I know get after it and are hard chargers.

Thank you for helping me see the positive to come out of my injury, Cannonball. I posted up a thread on the training board of all the injuries I've had over the last three years. It's just frustrating that I can't seem to stay healthy throughout an entire season. I feel like I can't contribute to my team unless I'm playing and being out there playing and doing my job that I feel like I'm just burdening my team and not being an asset.

Your right though. Now I can sit back and see things from a coach's perspective and pass my knowledge off onto the kids that are starting to come up through the system and up through the travel team. I still feel though like I'm going to be behind when it comes to in game for travel ball without really knowing new pitchers and tendencies and how they throw that I'll feel like I'm off even though I've still have a chance to work on my stregnth and my cardio keeping in game shape.

BobInMadison · May 20, 2018

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softgabby · May 20, 2018

BobInMadison said:
Yes, catchers are a bit injury prone, much more so than even pitchers. I can't think of a catcher I know who has never gotten injured. In fact, the two best catchers at the local HS are both injured right now.

And pitchers get injured as well. DD 3 has been lucky so far, but her injuries have been made worse by overuse.
Her first injury was when she got a slight, almost unnoticeable, sprain on her wrist catching a ball while pitching in a 12U LL game. Right afterwards, she played in a 10U tourney where the team went through the losers' bracket to come back and win the tournament. After that, the doctor made her give up softball for a little while while her wrist recovered. He said if she had damaged it just a little more, it would've required surgery. As it was, she just needed a wrist brace.

I know at my position, we're not injury immune. The injury I'm combating now wasn't softball related but happened at home. I've played through sprains, strains and sore muscles and joints...but I'm not chancing playing through a fracture. It sucks I'll be out 6-8 weeks and have to wear a cast...but I'll do what I need to do to get back out on the field. I'm also in a injury prone sport as a cheerleader. So I guess for me being banged up is a way of life, lol

.

dbronstein · May 20, 2018

Cannonball said:
What troubles me is that the ones that were ball related were injuries that got worse over time and could have been avoided.

The root of the problem is the culture of playing hurt. It starts at the youngest ages and gets worse as the pressure to win increases. Some of it is kids wanting to keep playing and not wanting to sit out or give up a season to heal. But a bigger part is kids having it drilled in to them by coaches and parents to "play through it" because "it's not that bad" and "you're fine." And of course the "you're a wimp" factor if you say you need to sit out.

Cannonball · May 20, 2018

dbronstein said:
The root of the problem is the culture of playing hurt. It starts at the youngest ages and gets worse as the pressure to win increases. Some of it is kids wanting to keep playing and not wanting to sit out or give up a season to heal. But a bigger part is kids having it drilled in to them by coaches and parents to "play through it" because "it's not that bad" and "you're fine." And of course the "you're a wimp" factor if you say you need to sit out.

I agree with much of this. We have a trainer on staff at our school. Students can go to him during lunch or homeroom. There is no reason to let an injury go on. We have some of the nicest training room facilities in the state for our athletes including electrical stimulation, infrared heat, ... We have whirlpools, weights, band work areas, ... We always have an intern from a local college present as well. I know the coaching staffs I have been a part of push using the trainer.

BobInMadison · May 20, 2018

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softgabby · May 22, 2018

Figured I'd update you guys on my injury. I went to see the orthopedist today and I ended up having another x-ray done on my hand and fingers. I ended up having more fractures than what was originally assessed. Thankfully, my pointer and middle fingers aren't as bad as was originally figured. I still have fractures there but they aren't as bad as they could be. But my orthopedist said that my ring and pinky fingers were fractured as well. I also have fractures in a fair amount of the small bones in my hand. So, the doctor ordered me to have a splint on the fingers that weren't so bad and cast on the fingers that were newly saw as fractured. So, I got casted on my pinky and ring fingers and it runs the whole way down to just short of my elbow. I'm told I'll be in a cast for about 8 weeks and then I'm supposed to have about a month of rehab before I'll be cleared to return to playing softball. *sigh* So now I look at the fiberglass that is encasing my fingers, hand, wrist and arm and I think about how messed up my summer is now. But thankfully, I qualified to get a waterproof cast. So, I'll be able to go swimming and to the beach when we go to a coastal tournament at the beach. But, I'll miss not playing.

I did get some Chik-Fil-A after seeing the orthopedist which was so good. It was challenging though trying to eat a chicken sandwich with one hand though along with my iced tea. My coach's reaction was funny though when I went walking into his office to hand him my doctor's note. He was like "don't tell me you got hurt...again". I was like "no, I'm not telling you I'm hurt again". He was like "why" and I said "cause you told me not to"! We laughed again.

I have to make an addition to this post. I was watching videos about casts last night and here's one I found that was an educational video about putting on the type of cast I got. I thought it was cool seeing how they do it and it might be an interesting field to get into when I'm out of school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhmXBd0jfOs

Strike2 · May 22, 2018

I'm seeing more and more injuries in HS age groups, and I think it has much to do with going from one season to another with no down time. There's HS slow AND fastpitch seasons that often overlap with travel ball and seem to stretch year-round in some places. Then, some kids also play basketball, or run track, or cheerlead, or whatever. I know several HS age girls recovering from shoulder or knee surgery. I constantly ask my DD how she's doing, and I can tell when her arm gets tired because her mechanics start to change.

Competition for starting positions in HS ball can be fierce. I'm not saying that anything Cannonball did contributed to the injury, but when two players fighting for a position like that, it isn't surprising that neither wants to show weakness. It's tough for kids, who have been working most of their lives so they can play HS softball, to communicate about injuries in that situation.

Eric F · May 22, 2018

My DD has been a string of injuries...elbow issues (tendon and nerve), MCL strains, broken fingers, and concussions. Some have been from playing softball, some have been from other places. She has learned about how to handle being on the bench while watching and supporting her teammates in the game. She tends to be conservative about pushing to get back on the field more so than I did at her age. She has also become pretty good about evaluating the severity of her injuries and whether or not it needs a professional examination. Last year was particularly rough...elbow tendon issue, elbow nerve issue (couldn't throw for 10 weeks), concussion, and a broken finger. We went to a week-long tournament in Reno, NV, last July and she spent it all on the bench. Right now, she's 3 weeks into recovery from her second MCL strain. It's probably going to be a couple more weeks before she can get behind the plate again.

Eric F · May 22, 2018

softgabby said:
Figured I'd update you guys on my injury. I went to see the orthopedist today and I ended up having another x-ray done on my hand and fingers. I ended up having more fractures than what was originally assessed. Thankfully, my pointer and middle fingers aren't as bad as was originally figured. I still have fractures there but they aren't as bad as they could be. But my orthopedist said that my ring and pinky fingers were fractured as well. I also have fractures in a fair amount of the small bones in my hand. So, the doctor ordered me to have a splint on the fingers that weren't so bad and cast on the fingers that were newly saw as fractured. So, I got casted on my pinky and ring fingers and it runs the whole way down to just short of my elbow. I'm told I'll be in a cast for about 8 weeks and then I'm supposed to have about a month of rehab before I'll be cleared to return to playing softball. *sigh* So now I look at the fiberglass that is encasing my fingers, hand, wrist and arm and I think about how messed up my summer is now. But thankfully, I qualified to get a waterproof cast. So, I'll be able to go swimming and to the beach when we go to a coastal tournament at the beach. But, I'll miss not playing.

I did get some Chik-Fil-A after seeing the orthopedist which was so good. It was challenging though trying to eat a chicken sandwich with one hand though along with my iced tea. My coach's reaction was funny though when I went walking into his office to hand him my doctor's note. He was like "don't tell me you got hurt...again". I was like "no, I'm not telling you I'm hurt again". He was like "why" and I said "cause you told me not to"! We laughed again.

I have to make an addition to this post. I was watching videos about casts last night and here's one I found that was an educational video about putting on the type of cast I got. I thought it was cool seeing how they do it and it might be an interesting field to get into when I'm out of school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhmXBd0jfOs

Holy crap!! Wasn't your summer messed up last year due to an injury, too?? So sorry to hear this, Gabby.

Injuries in HS or otherwise:

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