Track Mom.. “Everything Youth Track and Field”

I know that many parents are going to over look this post because you think it won’t happen to your youth athlete or you simply don’t want to address the possibility…Do me a favor place it in your favorites for a friend  or the future just in case…..Being prepared is always a good thing.

Every athlete, regardless of his or her skill level, will go through a grieving process after incurring an injury - without exception. In 1969, Kubler-Ross first outlined the stages of grief a person goes through when facing a serious or career ending injury, death or serious disease prognosis.

An understanding of the four stages of managing grief: denial, anger, depression and acceptance will help you in supporting youth athlete through them.The parent/and or coach can also goes through similar stages.

Denial

Initially, the athlete cannot believe the injury is severe or that it will impact their ability to continue with their sport. Many have sound down a total myth of ”no pain means no gain”. If this is your youth athlete someone who has been training them has lost touch with current training and understanding of pain and injury. Pain is an indicator, a fire alarm that something has gone wrong ,and need immediate attention. the realization that the pain is stopping them from participating leads to the next stage.

Anger

Denial quickly turns to anger as the reality of the situation settles in and the athlete is forced by the circumstances to alter or even stop their participation in their sport. Recovery is often not an easy path and the athlete becomes frustrated and more irritated with the pace of the rehabilitation process. At this point, the coach is in an ideal position to be a sounding board for the athlete’s exasperation, and help ease their aggressiveness toward the athletic trainers who are trying to get them back in shape. Realizing the athlete is angry at their loss of ability to perform, their loss of power over what has happened to them and the current situation they now find themselves in are important points to keep in mind while dealing with the individual.Realization is often slower in less dramatic injuries ,simply due to the fact that children under report or over report severity and the parent or coach have to get to the bottom of what is bothering the child,if it is not apparently obvious immediately.  

Depression

Self worth becomes an issue at this point in the process and depression sets in due to the reality of the situation now being fully realized. The athlete begins to feel as though he or she has no physical or emotional control. The team continues onward without them, which leaves a  temprary but distinct void in their life and this can  lead to feelings of isolation, further self-doubt and lowering of their self-esteem. Hope for a successful outcome becomes cloudy and they may not see any good coming from the rehabilitation process. It is the parents job to reassure and openly discuss the athletes feelings to help encourage and reassure the athlete that the best out come will be worked toward.

This stage is incredibly difficult, but it’s important to remember here the progress they have made and keep them engaged in their recovery. 

Acceptance and Recovery 

Once you’re clearer about what’s going on within you, there are several things you can do to optimize your recovery:

Determine your needs and build a team for your athlete to meet those needs.Perhaps you’re the kind of person who just needs a great doctor. On the other hand, you might benefit from support and guidance from such people as a physical therapist, alternative healthcare practitioners, a coach, a trainer, family and friends, a counselor or therapist, or clergy.

Since it’s critically important to see health care professionals with whom you feel highly comfortable and trusting, you may need to get clearer beforehand on what affects your feelings of comfort and trust. Is it the person’s approach to treatment and recovery? Their bedside manner? The cost? Whether they’re on your insurance plan? Whether they’ve been referred to you by someone you trust?

And don’t forget: you and your youth athlete are on the team, too. How you relate to yourself and each other during your recovery– self-talk, how emotions are manged, your expectations–may make the biggest difference of all. Speaking of which…

1. Set and reset your expectations for the recovery process/time as accurately as possible.  
2. Minimize any decline in  physical fitness. You may be off running , but you may not be completely prevented from doing  other activity. Physiologically, exercise will tend to help combat any mood or anxiety problems that they may experience as a result of the injury. Plus, if they can see and feel that certain non-injured areas of their body are staying strong–or perhaps even getting stronger–their outlook will tend to improve.

 Before you know it your athlete will be back on Track…… You can grow through Injury and  pehaps prevent another.