There is an estimated 5,228,791 sports injuries that occurred nationally, according to the National Library of Medicine. Many of those injuries take a toll on the athlete’s mental health.
In a Nebraska Medicine article written by Dr. Andrew J Ahrendt and Matthew A. Toa. Dr Ahrendt wrote, “Sports injuries can impact the mental health of athletes at any level, but the more your identity is tied to being an athlete, the greater the impact. Suddenly, you feel like you’re no longer whole.” The National Library of Medicine said that common responses to sports injuries are depression, lack of motivation, and identity crisis. In the same article, they shared that these effects might be worse for high school athletes, as this might be their first obstacle in life. That being said, West Albany High School athletes are no exception to this statistic.
After Pena Hong-Moors’ freshman year, Moors sustained an injury, putting him out of football for his entire sophomore season. The summer before Moors’s sophomore year, he tore his Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) at a football camp after an awkward landing. The injury took around 10 months to heal.
Moors spent a lot of time with the football team; however, he still felt it was hard to miss out on the season. “It was hard watching them because it was such a good team, but I was still at every practice,” Moors said in reference to the 24-25 varsity football team.
Moors’mental health also took a hit during this time. “I just felt really down not being able to play,” Moors said. Since he couldn’t play, Moors felt many emotions all at once. “I felt mad and sad at the same time,” Moors said. “It sucked not playing.”
Moors comes from a family of football players and athletes, so the news of his injury was not anything his family wanted to hear. While Moors’ family was upset, they were supporting throughout the whole recovery process. “Of course they were all upset, but they’re all supporting,” Moors said. “[They were] getting ready for next year..”
Moors’ rehab process consisted of a lot of physical therapy, along with the help of family and friends to get him prepared for the upcoming season. “A lot of physical therapy, [pretty much] every day,” Moors said.
After a long break from the sport, Moors feels confident coming into this season. He feels 100% again, the same as he always has. “It feels fine, it doesn’t even feel like I was hurt,” Moors said. Going into the season Moors’ biggest goals were based on this injury. “[My biggest goals are] not getting hurt [and] to be able to play the whole season.”
