Graham would rather be safe than sorry
By JENNY DIAL
Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle
June 15, 2010, 11:02PM
De la Torre Chronicle
The former Dawson pitcher is headed to play softball for San Jacinto next year.
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When the line drive struck Brooke Graham on the left side of her forehead just above her eye, she didn’t move.
Graham, a pitcher for the Dawson softball team, didn’t fall over, drop to her knees, cry or call for help. She just stood motionless in the circle, slowly moving her hands up to her face.
“I knew my face was broken,” she said. “It didn’t hurt. I didn’t feel any pain, but I knew my face was broken.”
The ball off the bat of Friendswood second baseman Carrie Flores ricocheted off Graham’s head and bounced almost back to
home plate before her coaches made it onto the field to check on her.
Graham stood with her hands over her face, afraid to move, as former assistant coach Krystal McDonald tried to talk to her.
“I thought she was exaggerating because she didn’t fall and there was no blood,” McDonald said. “I finally got her to move her hands and saw a dent about an inch deep in her forehead. It was pushed completely in. I just took a breath and told her everything was fine, even though in my head, I thought, ‘This is bad. She is going to die.’ ”
That was April 13, and Graham, who is headed to San Jacinto College to play softball next year, no longer has a dent in her head. Instead, she has a titanium plate where the top of her skull used to be. She also has a scar that goes from ear to ear — like a headband — after undergoing reconstructive surgery six days later.
She also has something else as a result of her injury — a face mask that she plans to wear when she enters the pitcher’s circle.
“If I could go back, I would have been wearing a face mask to pitch for years now,” Graham said. “I had the opportunity when I was younger, but I didn’t like the way it felt or looked. I wish I could go back.”
With her recovery complete and her return to the game set for this fall, Graham has a new mission in mind. She wants to raise awareness of head injuries for softball players in the hope that more will consider wearing a mask while playing in the infield.
While some pitchers, third basemen and first basemen wear masks, it isn’t required. The University Interscholastic League in Texas sets all its softball rules and policies in accordance with the National Federation of High Schools.
NFHS softball rules editor Mary Struckoff said the federation has not considered making face masks mandatory.
“The reaction times of pitchers are all different, so some need protective face wear more than others,” Struckoff said. “You also have to consider (that) if you make face masks mandatory you might be taking away some visibility from the pitcher and she could suddenly get hit in the chest. ”
The NFHS did vote to move the circle back from 40 feet to 43 feet next year, which will create more space between the pitcher and the batter.
Graham’s injury has been a hot topic of discussion among softball programs in the Houston area. McDonald, who will be the head coach at Dawson next school year, said face masks will be a requirement for her pitching staff.
At Tomball , coach Benita Dunlavy will make sure her pitchers explore their options. She has one player who already had chosen to wear a mask and two others who currently do not. Dunlavy has been coaching at Tomball since 1985 and said this year, she has heard of more head and face injuries than any other season in her career.
“It is scary,” Dunlavy said. “ The game is better now. Hitters are really good, the bats are fast and the risk is higher. As players have gotten better, the game has become more dangerous.”
Graham, who won’t play again until August, will be on the sidelines for tonight’s Breakaway Speed Softball All-Star Game at the University of Houston. She was chosen for the South team but will watch from the stands. Even the dugout is too close to the action for the 18-year old right now.
Her scar is healing and she still is adjusting to the side effects of her injury — headaches, occasional blackouts and emotional outbursts.
Graham said she wonders what it will be like to face a batter for the first time when she comes back.
“I think it is going to be weird,” she said. “But I am pretty competitive so I want to be back to where I was and be playing at the same level I was at. It will take some work, but I am determined.”
jenny.dial@chron.com
By JENNY DIAL
Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle
June 15, 2010, 11:02PM
De la Torre Chronicle
The former Dawson pitcher is headed to play softball for San Jacinto next year.
Share
Del.icio.usDiggTwitterYahoo! Buzz FacebookStumbleUponEmail
When the line drive struck Brooke Graham on the left side of her forehead just above her eye, she didn’t move.
Graham, a pitcher for the Dawson softball team, didn’t fall over, drop to her knees, cry or call for help. She just stood motionless in the circle, slowly moving her hands up to her face.
“I knew my face was broken,” she said. “It didn’t hurt. I didn’t feel any pain, but I knew my face was broken.”
The ball off the bat of Friendswood second baseman Carrie Flores ricocheted off Graham’s head and bounced almost back to
home plate before her coaches made it onto the field to check on her.
Graham stood with her hands over her face, afraid to move, as former assistant coach Krystal McDonald tried to talk to her.
“I thought she was exaggerating because she didn’t fall and there was no blood,” McDonald said. “I finally got her to move her hands and saw a dent about an inch deep in her forehead. It was pushed completely in. I just took a breath and told her everything was fine, even though in my head, I thought, ‘This is bad. She is going to die.’ ”
That was April 13, and Graham, who is headed to San Jacinto College to play softball next year, no longer has a dent in her head. Instead, she has a titanium plate where the top of her skull used to be. She also has a scar that goes from ear to ear — like a headband — after undergoing reconstructive surgery six days later.
She also has something else as a result of her injury — a face mask that she plans to wear when she enters the pitcher’s circle.
“If I could go back, I would have been wearing a face mask to pitch for years now,” Graham said. “I had the opportunity when I was younger, but I didn’t like the way it felt or looked. I wish I could go back.”
With her recovery complete and her return to the game set for this fall, Graham has a new mission in mind. She wants to raise awareness of head injuries for softball players in the hope that more will consider wearing a mask while playing in the infield.
While some pitchers, third basemen and first basemen wear masks, it isn’t required. The University Interscholastic League in Texas sets all its softball rules and policies in accordance with the National Federation of High Schools.
NFHS softball rules editor Mary Struckoff said the federation has not considered making face masks mandatory.
“The reaction times of pitchers are all different, so some need protective face wear more than others,” Struckoff said. “You also have to consider (that) if you make face masks mandatory you might be taking away some visibility from the pitcher and she could suddenly get hit in the chest. ”
The NFHS did vote to move the circle back from 40 feet to 43 feet next year, which will create more space between the pitcher and the batter.
Graham’s injury has been a hot topic of discussion among softball programs in the Houston area. McDonald, who will be the head coach at Dawson next school year, said face masks will be a requirement for her pitching staff.
At Tomball , coach Benita Dunlavy will make sure her pitchers explore their options. She has one player who already had chosen to wear a mask and two others who currently do not. Dunlavy has been coaching at Tomball since 1985 and said this year, she has heard of more head and face injuries than any other season in her career.
“It is scary,” Dunlavy said. “ The game is better now. Hitters are really good, the bats are fast and the risk is higher. As players have gotten better, the game has become more dangerous.”
Graham, who won’t play again until August, will be on the sidelines for tonight’s Breakaway Speed Softball All-Star Game at the University of Houston. She was chosen for the South team but will watch from the stands. Even the dugout is too close to the action for the 18-year old right now.
Her scar is healing and she still is adjusting to the side effects of her injury — headaches, occasional blackouts and emotional outbursts.
Graham said she wonders what it will be like to face a batter for the first time when she comes back.
“I think it is going to be weird,” she said. “But I am pretty competitive so I want to be back to where I was and be playing at the same level I was at. It will take some work, but I am determined.”
jenny.dial@chron.com
