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Recruiting and Recovery After an Injury

By Next College Student Athlete, 09/12/18, 12:00PM PDT

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Injured or not, grades are still the most important thing

An injury can sometimes even be a blessing in disguise. It may force your student-athlete to develop better eating and training habits.

Many high school athletes dream of competing at the college level. But what happens to those dreams when injuries occur? Is all the hard work and dedication suddenly for naught? Even though they may think their college sports career is over before it began – fear not, there’s still hope!

Here are a few things you can do to help manage your student-athlete’s college recruiting after an injury.

HONESTY IS KEY

The one thing student-athletes should know that’s guaranteed to make an injury worse is when they are not being honest with themselves, current teammates and college coaches about an injury. Physically, downplaying or ignoring an injury could cause it to become more severe and at a minimum, delay proper treatment and recovery.

And one of the more critical factors in the recruiting process is open and honest communication with college coaches at every phase. Whether it’s your level of interest in a program, an offer from another school or your injury status always play it straight.

READ MORE: How can an injury affect recruitment

HOW MUCH TIME YOU MISS MATTERS

Unfortunately, timing can be everything. If student-athletes miss an entire senior season, that will obviously have a greater impact on their recruiting than missing a game or two. The good news is a lot of incoming college freshmen end up redshirting, so suffering an injury during senior year of high school isn’t the end of the world.

If your child had expectations of playing Division I before an injury, it may make sense to adjust your target list of schools depending on the severity. Division II or DIII may now be a more realistic option. 

READ MORE: This football player didn’t let injury stop him

DON’T RUSH YOUR RECOVERY

After an injury, the first thought for many athletes becomes, “When can I come back?” While the dedication and the will to push through the pain may be admirable, you will want to be wary of student-athletes trying to rush their recovery. Far too often student-athletes come back before they’re fully healed. They may think they are helping their recruiting chances, but coming back too soon could lead to more injuries or making the original injury worse.

Some ways to get back out there as fast as possible include, of course, following the proper rehab recommended by doctors and trainers. Maintaining proper diet and nutrition helps, too. Don’t forget, to get some rest, meaning actual sleep. A healthy sleep schedule can help your athlete heal faster and also help to prevent injuries from happening in the first place.

READ MORE: Why sleep needs to be a serious part of your routine

KEEP YOUR GRADES UP

Injured or not, grades are still the most important thing. Period. After all, it’s “student-athlete” for a reason, not the other way around. Student always needs to come first.

Keeping grades up, especially during an injury, is crucial. Make sure athletes are using a little new found downtime wisely. If they can’t practice, it may allow them more time to study. Getting good grades and testing well are important regardless of what college level your student-athlete intends to play. Plus, if college coaches see an athlete’s grades dip after an injury, they may question their commitment.

COME BACK BETTER THAN EVER

An injury can sometimes even be a blessing in disguise. It may force student-athletes to develop better eating and training habits.

They may begin to develop a stricter, healthier diet to try and get back quicker. It might help them focus on their grades more. It can educate them on how they can try to prevent further injuries. It could also teach them to listen to their body more and know when it’s telling them to stop. It may make them more disciplined and tougher in other aspects of their life.

Athletes are used to competing. They are also used to facing challenges and overcoming obstacles. Student-athletes should treat their recovery process as another one of those challenges. Make sure they approach it with the right attitude and remain positive. They can’t change the fact that they are hurt. However, they can very much control how they will handle their recovery.

They may have to work harder than some of their peers — adjust their game, workout routine, etc. — but by no means does an injury automatically mean an end to their recruiting process or dream of competing on a college team.

ABOUT NEXT COLLEGE STUDENT ATHLETE

NCSA is the world's largest and most successful collegiate athletic recruiting network. A wholly owned subsidiary of Reigning Champs LLC, NCSA's 700 teammates leverage exclusive data, proprietary matching algorithms and personal relationships built over nearly two decades as the industry leader to connect tens of thousands of college-bound student-athletes to more than 35,000 college coaches nationwide across 34 sports every year.

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