Injured: The Agony of Watching From the Sidelines

This week’s submission comes from Jeffrey Gertley.  Jeff is a Senior, and has played on the varsity basketball team since his Sophomore year.  In addition, he was the quarterback for the Mustang football team and also plays center field and pitches for the baseball team.

The night before Thanksgiving, I broke my finger at practice. Surgery was required and I knew I was out for a while. Just how long, I wasn’t sure. But I was determined to get back as quick as possible. Not being able to practice this last month with the team has been a real disappointment. 

Coming into this season we had really high hopes for our team and program. We haven’t had the start we were looking for, but we are getting better every day. Not being able to practice with my team has been difficult.  Throughout my three years of playing high school basketball, I have never been injured.

Even though I am not practicing, I still know I have to fulfill my role as a leader.  Every day in practice I help my teammates improve, whether it’s rebounding in a drill for a teammate or just telling them what they could improve on. Every day in practice I keep every player’s individual stats and Coach Sander lets them know what their stats are at the end of practice. Even though I do not practice, I still attend practice every day. I just love being around my teammates and pushing them to get better. 

Every day I still attend practice with the expectation that I am going to get better and return to the court.  During practices Coach Turner puts me through numerous drills to improve my skills. Coach Turner always says “tough moments don’t last, tough people do.” I can’t wait until I step on the court with my teammates again. I now have the greatest respect for those athletes that have experienced an injury during a season.