Faking injuries.
It has
come to my attention, whether it be discussing this new trend with athletic
trainers, coaches, or just watching the multiple youth sports games and
practices that I attend on a weekly basis, that injuries are on the rise. But
what has struck me hard was the fact that some of these reported injuries were
not actually real traumatic injuries that required extended time off to heal
for a physical problem. What is creeping into youth and high school sports is
mental injuries and exhaustion. An injury became an excuse to get out of
playing for a certain team that they belonged to. Fear of what the coach might
say, fear of retribution from an organization, or even the saddest excuse of
all, fear of parents and the pressure they put on these kids to keep playing
because of the time and money they invested in their “careers” (Their word not
mine).
This
fear of parents’ reaction to the child’s play has children faking an injury so
that they can get needed rest. They know if they don’t play they can’t get
yelled on the field or in the car on the way home. Youth sports are no longer
fun for them and they know there is no DI scholarship out there for them. Even
more so, they know that it is not fun to play their sport anymore and they fear
the stigma attached to them if they quit. How very sad.
But
what struck me about this was that some players were coming back into the game
soon after they were injured. In one high school football game alone seven
players required treatment on the field for what seemed to be cramp related
issues. This caught my attention. I started to watch more carefully as players
from the fall sports, primarily football and soccer went to the trainers for
taping or other ailments. I started to see player not wanting to continue to
practice. They did not seem interested in the games they were playing.
So the
next thing I did was start to question coaches, trainers, and players. Stunned
was the first word that popped into my head. I started to hear stories of
players faking injuries because they were tired. Other players faking injuries
to avoid the pressure being put on them to perform. Still other players
exaggerating injuries so that they could get attention from their trainers and
sympathy from their friends and family.
I even
heard of a player using a so called injury to explain why he did not make a
certain team. He had been telling people he was off to college to play DI only
to find out he wasn’t going to play and lo and behold he developed an injury
that was his excuse for not making the team. Was that really it? Or did he get
to college and find out that there was no way he was going to make the team he
was trying out for?
Another player said she heard of a girl who
simply started to cry when told she was going to have to continue to play on a
varsity soccer team even though she was so tired and beat up from playing
soccer year round that she just wanted to quit. So we are not serving the
children and their needs
Let’s talk children’s development. Three
things I know from being a dad, a coach, and a player about kids. They want to
be SAFE, They want to be loved, and they want to have fun. They are not mini
adults or micro professional athletes. They are not remote controlled robots or
personal joy sticks for adults. The hangover at the end of their youth sports
experience is fraught with obesity, type II diabetes, psychiatric care, lack of
motivation to get on with their lives and a dramatic lack of coping skills. 70%
quit by the age of 13. If your business lost 70% of your customers you’d change
in a hurry. Youth sports should too! These kids are rebelling in the only way
they know how to remain as safe as possible, still be loved and not thought of
as a failure. (Remember, they can’t fail if they don’t try)
:-)
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