While growing up, many parents involve their children in different sports and activities. At Willow Glen High School, being a part of a team is important to many students as it’s a huge part of their high school experience. Many athletes take pride in their sports and enjoy the competitive aspect of it. Unfortunately, while playing a sport can have a lot of benefits for athletes, many get injured while being involved in a sport whether it’s as little as soreness or as big as bone breakage, all types of injuries affect students’ mental and physical health.

Willow Glen’s football players require a great amount of strength and conditioning to be able to perform their best. Cedeño Chavez, a senior in our football team, had his fair share of sports injuries, “I pulled my hip flexor last year (junior year)”. When asked how he recovered from that, Chavez stated, “I stretched and worked the muscles around my hip, such as my core, which is able to compensate for the injury”. Furthermore, the importance of stretching and staying in shape was emphasized by Chavez, building upon the idea of injury prevention.

Sports can cause many different types of injuries. Common injuries include concussions, knee, ankle, shoulder, and hip injuries, among others. All common injuries have a significant influence on high school athletes. Isabel Mata, a junior water polo player and diver for the swim and dive team, described her worst knee injury where “[she] had to get a cortisone injection in [her] left knee.”Mata described this as her greatest injury because it affected her ability to walk comfortably, and she mentioned that she still struggles with it. Mata’s suggestion for injured athletes is to focus on strengthening exercises and working out in ways that do not injure them further.

There are numerous methods of appropriate soreness and fatigue recovery. The most important one that athletes must prioritize is hydration. Dehydration is a welcome call for all types of inconveniences an athlete may face. Athletes must understand that stretching is a necessity that must be incorporated into their daily routine, not just during fatigue and soreness. By using these methods, the chances of injury decrease drastically.