buffmom

Has anyone had an athlete injured during the whole recruiting process. DS injured his shoulder playing beach volleyball but his sport is swimming. When a swim coach calls or contacts him should he report the injury immediately or casually mention it later on down the line. Shoulders and swimming go hand in hand obviouslyand we are trying to get him the best treatment for the long run but also get him back in the water as well as soon as it is safe.

wilberry228

Are you sure his injury is serious? If that were my daughter, I'd wait and see if it healed on its own quickly, unless, of course, it's had to be surgically or otherwise treated. In that case, I would feel obligated to mention it, but only if it came up - most of the questionnaires ask if there are any injuries and of course a shoulder is a bad one for a swimmer to have. Hope it's nothing serious and that he heals quickly. Those darn summer sports!

ps: just had another thought: with swimming, the shoulder injuries are usually repetitive in nature; so if he has had an acute injury, is this the same? That goes along the lines of my above post in that perhaps it would heal and not affect the swimming. But I'm sure the doctor has advised you as far as any of that. Good luck!!

fishymom

Every coach that my daughter has spoken to has specifically asked about sports related injuries. It would be dishonest to not reveal this injury and the treatment your son is receiving for it. Obviously, there is a wide array of possibilities for shoulder injuries, but any shoulder injury can negatively impact a swimmer's future. Coaches have a right to know exactly what the nature of the injury is. You want coaches to be honest and forthright with you and you must be the same with them.

Shrinkrap

That's interesting! Coaches have a "right to know" things that employers sometimes don't!

wilberry228

I don't think that it's 'dishonest' unless you are sure it's going to affect the performance. If it's just a bruised shoulder that will heal, I would wait and see. On the other hand, if it's dislocated or broken, obviously in this case you will probably not have a choice. I wasn't sure from the original post if it was this serious or not. But as I said, the doctor has surely provided advice as far as that goes, and if no doctor was involved, then it may not be serious enough to merit alarming a coach. Either way, I hope it all works out.

fishymom

"Shoulders and swimming go hand in hand obviouslyand we are trying to get him the best treatment for the long run but also get him back in the water as well as soon as it is safe. "

This statement is what leads me to believe that this is indeed an injury, not just a bruised shoulder or something that will heal on its own. I don't think that disclosing an injury would necessarily alarm a coach, unless it is something he/she should be concerned about. Also, there is really no way to know for sure whether an injury will affect performance in the short or long term, even with best treatment available.

varska

hey, it doesn't sound like you were thinking of concealing the injury, rather when to bring it up, right? I don't think it needs to be the first thing out of your son's mouth when a coach calls, but I'd recommend mentioning it when the coach asks the inevitable, 'so how's your summer been going?'. Frankly, a lot of high level athletes have tweaked knees, backs, shoulders, etc...I don't think it will be a deal breaker. In fact, the coach will probably appreciate his candor. As fishy alluded, everyone expects the coach to be honest and forthright though the process, kids and parents have the same obligation.

fogfog

We have a friend who top recruit student got an injury this summer--
and with examination from a top ortho MD--found that the first "diagnosis" from a "trainer" (don't know this persons credentials-or if they were a MD) was wrong.
Turns out the student didn't have nearly the injury/problem expected.
Rather the irritation was in part due to that the student is growing...
All that is to say be sure you have right diagnosis and treatment.
In the end --when this student spoke with coaches--and told them--they were not worried at all..and it was good that the student was honest.

sherpa

Sorry about your son's injury, buffmom. My son had an injury, albeit at a later point in the recruiting process, so I'll share his story here.

He had done unofficial visits to all of his target schools during junior year, including meetings with coaches, so his college choices were pretty well set before the end of junior year. He gave his first choice school's coach a verbal commitment the summer before senior year. Choice school doesn't offer ED so he asked for and received an early likely letter (October).

He injured his hand in late December. He is a fencer, so a hand injury is critical. Without question, the injury was fencing related. He went to the best hand surgeon in our State, who tried a couple of cortisone injections and, when those failed, recommended surgery. DS was reluctant to have surgery for a few reasons, 1) didn’t want hand recovering from surgery with AP exams upcoming, 2) general unease about surgery, hoped it would improve on it’s own, etc., and 3) uncertainty due to inadequate imaging technology (local doctors told us a hand is too small for an MRI).

Throughout this time we wondered whether to tell college coach about the injury. Likely letter in hand, but no other applications out, we started to worry a bit. Everything went through all our heads: wanting to be honest, afraid to risk losing coach’s support, thinking DS’s fencing career may be over, etc., etc. When we realized that DS would miss Junior Olympics (not as big a thing as it sounds but still a large national fencing tournament) but I would be going with our daughter, we decided that if I saw (which I surely would) the college coach at JOs, I should disclose the injury.

At JOs I ran into a fencing dad friend who is a doctor, explained DS’s plight and first thing he said was that this is an imaging problem, better get him to a hand doctor who has a specialized hand MRI machine and get another opinion about the surgery. He adds that he has a hand doctor friend who probably has access to a hand MRI, and, hold on a minute; he’s probably here at this tournament. We quickly check the event schedule and realize his friend’s son is competing at that moment, so we check the pool assignments, find his strip, and go over in search of the dad. On the way over my doctor friend explains that his friend’s son is a sophomore at my son’s prospective college. So I’m now thinking about two things, maybe I’ll find a medical solution for DS’s injury, and maybe the coach will be there. Turns out I’m right on both counts. The hand doctor is standing with the college coach, and over the next few minutes I disclose the injury to coach and coach and I get the quick diagnosis from the expert. Coach is great, perfectly supportive, no hint of wavering support. Doctor was equally great, says bring him out any time, don’t worry if they say there are no appointments available, ask for me personally, we’ll get him in.

A week later we fly to Chicago, get the MRI, and the recommendation for surgery is confirmed. Doc says he’ll do it or have our local surgeon do it. DS opts to wait until end of school year, chooses his future teammate’s father for surgery, and everything worked out great. Admission was never in question, hand is now fine, and the Ivy League Championship ring is beautiful.

Sorry for the overly long story, but my advice is to be upfront with the coaches and, most importantly, get the best possible diagnosis and treatment for your son.

Best of luck through the process.

mayhew

^^^Great story - with the best ending ever!! This is certainly reassuring, and a very positive example of all the help and support that can come by being transparent. Thanks a lot for sharing this, sherpa

fogfog

Sherpa
Great story!

sherpa

@Mayhew and fogfog, thanks, I was reluctant to post that story because I was afraid it might be too self-indulgent. I'm gratified that you enjoyed it.

fogfog - your question in the Princeton forum went ignored for a week, but my son gave it an answer yesterday. Princeton has been great for him. As a parent, I could go on forever about P. My story above was my first taste of the "connection" factor at elite colleges. Further tastes have been succulent, like when the P bio prof called his colleague at our state flagship to line up the summer internship.

Thanks again, and best of luck to your athlete.

22wins

Hello buffmom--my daughter, a rising senior, also sustained an injury that required surgery. She has told coaches about it. All have been sympathetic and receptive, understanding that it happens in a contact sport. She plays soccer, I see your son is a swimmer. My son is also a swimmer. Anyway, it's tough on them both physically, and in my opinion, the teenage mental is worse. I am optimistic that everything will work out. Do you have any video footage of your son in the swim meets? That would be a plus. 'Lots of luck!

PTmajor5

Now we're living it... My daughter dislocated her shoulder and her next overnight is in 2 weeks. Does she just show up in the sling or forewarn the coach?

author

What coach does not, a few days in advance of their OV/overnights, confirm the arrivals?
I'd tell them in the next call, when coach asks the how is it going question.

Does this injury knock her out for her senior season?