Lessons from a Lifetime of Sports Injuries

As a former student athlete that played sports from the age of 6 until 32 I have a bit of a history of broken bones, tears, cuts, and operations. My first broken bone was when I was 7 years old when I was riding my bike and jumping ramps with my friends on the dirt road we lived on. I got a good speed going and hit the ramp hard and it snapped in half and I went over the handle bars and broke my wrist when I landed. I also landed on my face and chest and it hurt pretty bad. My second broken bone was during basketball season in middle school where I hit a layup on a fast break steal and the other kid fouled me hard and I rammed against the wall pad and broke the same wrist.

I broke my finger in the 8th grade playing football when it go hung in another kids facemask while I was blocking him. I then had a period of no breaks until my 10th grade year when I broke my collarbone in the regional wrestling tournament on a freak landing. Then the big one came at the worst possible time during my 12th grade year. I was in the state tourney and was wrestling to go to the state championship and with 17 seconds in the match and winning 7-3, I broke my ankle, both bones in my lower leg. I also tore my ankle ligaments, knee ligaments and had to have major surgery to repair that.

That was the one that cost me a scholarship to a bigger university to play football. They were afraid I may not be off crutches by August so they took the offer of a scholarship to a walk on opportunity with the ability to get the scholarship back at the end of my freshman season. So I took an offer at a small school that ended up being a great opportunity and I played on a conference and national title team. I then got a very severe concussion and that was the end of my playing years.

After graduating college and beginning adult life, I had a few tears and issues like that but no more broken bones until I was in my 40’s. I was at football practice coaching and a player thru the football to me and did not tell me until it was too late. I stuck my hand up to block the ball from hitting me in the face and it cracked my index finger pretty bad. I is still very crooked to this day. I kept on coaching and it grew back kind of weird. Just another battle scar for a veteran player, coach and sports fanatic. Now in my later 50’s I try to avoid anything that can be a chance to break bones.

No skating, skate boards, motor cycles, excessive heights, or things that younger people may get into and do for fun. It would not heal as good now so I stay away from bone breaking opportunity if I can help it. These are the ones I can think of and just remember that all those breaks, aches and pains are memories that come with either a good story or bad. Either way, they are memories and things that we dealt with in life that helped shape us into who we are now. I grew up in the generation of “if it is not broken or bleeding excessively” then get back in the game. Tape it up and suck it up buttercup!