Tired, hungry, sore? Most student athletes are. Today’s world is full of outrageous schedules that can take a toll on teens bodies in many ways. Are sports hurting our students more than helping? Sports are a big deal to a lot of student’s all around the world. Most kid’s worlds revolve around sports. We live and breath sports all year long, whether we are on the field or in the stands. Some kids would do absolutely anything to be the best athlete they can be, even if that means putting their bodies though more than it can handle.

Many high schoolers are three sport athletes, but even the kids who might only play one or two sports in a school year are still putting their body’s through a lot. On top of always having practices after school, the majority of these athletes also participate in a weights class every school day. One of these students is Owen Shelmadine. Owen is a sophomore at Alliance High School. He plays football, basketball, track, and takes a weight class. Owen suffers from a back condition called scoliosis. At the young age of fifteen, Owen goes to his Chiropractor once a week, if not twice but like many other kids, Owen puts his body through the pain just because the love he has for the game. “I will play until they tell me I can’t,” said Owen.

Doctor Tim Devlin, simply know as Tim, is a physical therapist at Box Butte General Hospital, but he spends a lot of his time with the athletes at Alliance High. Everyday Tim is scheduled to be in the training room at the high school from 3:15 P.M to 4:30 P.M. He is the football teams trainer; he attends varsity football games home or away. He also goes to any other home varsity events that he can. Tim comes to the high school to assist athletes in any way he can. He spends around an hour to an hour and a half each day after school because of the large numbers of injured athletes at Alliance High School. The amount of athletes he assists depends on the season. Tim said “I tend to see more student athletes during football/volleyball season and again during the beginning of track season.” From what he sees most injuries are from the specific sport the athlete plays but there are also other reasons for these injuries. To help the number of hurt athletes go down students need the proper nutrition, hydration, and exercise. Including strength training and stretching to help prepare their bodies for each practice and game. “I am a big proponent of getting involved in multiple sports as research indicates this might be a way to avoid overuse injuries and burnout from only performing one sport all year,” Tim explained. Rest is also important for many reasons such as recovery fatigue, less overall injuries, to help reenergize body and mind.

Tim concluded by saying,

“I believe sport participation is a great way to learn about our bodies for life and how to take care of our bodies for life. Most of us as we get older are not going to be as active as we were in high school but if you establish a foundation of healthy living and exercise while in high school it will be a great guide to help you live the next 60-80 years of your life to its fullest potential.”

For our athletes to stay safe, we need to provide them with the proper preventative care and help them heal correctly if they do end up injured. Kids aren’t going to give up their sports just because it’s dangerous. Their love for the game is greater than the fear of being hurt.