“Age is no barrier. It’s a limitation you put on your mind.” – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Transition from Healthy to Injured – some of the challenges that athletes face
One of the biggest challenges that athletes can face is when they become injured. It is a time when the Parent/Guardian can be of the greatest support. Some of the challenges that the Parent/Guardian should be aware that the athlete typically faces:
| Time - do and fill with other things | Often athletes can in fact have more time, which may be a positive thing but often athletes fill this time with some negative behaviors from an athlete lifestyle point of view. Do other things /fill with other things. |
| Identity | Athletes will question their identity as an athlete if they can’t train as a “normal” athlete would for a prolonged period of time. |
| Mental Health | The stressor of injury and its impact on identity and sense of loss may be a factor in increasing an athletes risk to poor mental health. |
| Isolation | They may not form part of the main group when injured, they may even have to train and rehabilitate on their own. |
| Frustration | Rehabilitation from long term injury is rarely a straight line path and the setbacks can lead to great frustration. Injury might also cause frustration with the loss of opportunity to perform. |
| Loss of Funding | Injury may impact on funding or opportunity to earn from their sport. |
| Fear | Fear (will I get back, will I be as good as I was, will I lose my position, waiting).It can be real or perceived but athletes may lose their position on a team or worry about losing a position on a team when they are injured and not get it back. |
| Conflict with the Coach | It may be a bad behaviour from a coach but often conflict can arise between athlete and coach over different views on an injury and return to play dates for example. |
| Play through injury, RTP too soon | In training environments where there aren’t strict RTP (Return to Play) protocols athletes may or coaches may force athletes to return to training competition too early. |
| Diet / Nutrition | Athletes may not make an adjustment to their requirements when less active during periods of injury or may indulge in bad nutritional habits while injured. |
| Loss of independence | Significant injury may mean loss of ability to drive for example. |