A large number of student athletes are impacted emotionally and physically from their sports related injuries.

In fact, more than 3.5 million athletes get injured each year in the United States, according to Stanford Children’s Health.

A lot of our athletes said they miss out on many opportunities because of their injuries.

Senior football player, Sean Brandon said that some of his worst injuries would be when he tore his lateral meniscus and ACL.

“I missed out on a lot practice and play times. I guess I don’t have as much experience as the people around me,” Brandon said.

“My worst injury is my concussions and I’ve had five of them. They were really bad because I was out for a long time after each of them,” junior Erin Davis said.  

Athletic trainers are also affected by the experience of seeing athletes get physically hurt.  

Our athletic trainer, Taran Sharpe saw a football player fracture his neck during a game.

“I did see it happen and literally my heart stopped. I really care for my athletes so whenever I saw this guy go down, he was unresponsive. The referee was flagging me on,” Sharpe said.

Trainers are needed to guide our Coyotes during their recovery process.

“Depending on the injury it could be anywhere from just rest, it could be rehab, [or] strengthening up muscles. It could be pain management with over the counter medication,” Sharpe said.

Some of our athletes said that their determination helps them get through the recovery process.

“What keeps me optimistic is once I get through the injury and once I’m able to play again, I’ll be able to go back out there and do what I love and play with the girls that I love,” Davis said.