In the United States, around 8.6 million people get injured playing sports each year. More than 4.5 million of those injured are teens. During freshman Drayson Elder’s 5th year of baseball, he got an injury on his left leg (QTR) that would affect every season ahead and would change his life. Just days before the championships, Elder tore his quad muscle off the tendon. Elder was in a usual baseball game when everything happened.

      “It was just a regular game, I had no idea what was going to happen and how my life would change in less than an hour,” Elder said.

     Elder still spent every practice and game with his team. “Even though I wasn’t able to play, I still attended every amount of time I could with my team to show I was still a part of the team, and would be there if anything went wrong,” he said.

     While unable to play, Elder shares how it affected him. ”The whole time I wasn’t able to play, I was in a [bad] place; I had physical therapy every day for 10 months, and not being able to play really affected me,” Elder said 

     Drayson says that being injured doesn’t just affect your body; it affects your mental health.”It affected me in so many ways I can’t even describe.” Elder said.

Some people in the sports community would leave them not wanting to play again because of the trauma.” However, Elder says that he has been very scared of what can come, and wonders if he’s good enough to return. As soon as he was fully healed, he was ready to play.