This is part three of a four-part series. To read part one, click here. To read part two, click here.
Season 7 episode 22 of Cheerleaders on AwesomenessTV opens with an athlete on the California All Stars’ Reckless falling out of a stunt and letting out a bone-chilling scream. All athletes are looking around, stopping what they’re doing while all eyes go to this athlete. The camera crew pans back to the athlete, holding her knee and her coach and some of her teammates are surrounding her, trying to make sure it’s not a critical injury. Their coach, Orby Orta tells the show that his initial thought was, “Are you kidding me?” but realizes that there’s a kid that’s injured and he needs to put his personal thoughts aside from what’s going on.
As a coach, you’re hoping and praying that this injury is just blown a bit out of proportion and they’re just hurting that bad in the moment due to shock and that you don’t have to worry about trying to replace that athlete in the routine. But in some cases, the injury is actually worse than what everyone thought and now the athlete requires surgery and eventual physical therapy to rehab that injury.
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In a sport that’s as elite and competitive as all-star cheerleading, athletes are depending on their coaches and the staff within their gym to keep them safe and make sure that what they’re doing isn’t going to hurt their bodies. When athletes don’t have a coach that they can particularly trust or go to when they’re injured, that’s when it becomes more serious.
Going back to the athlete injury in the show “Cheerleaders”, Orby hopes that the injury isn’t as bad as they all think it is and that they’re just freaking out at the moment. A lot of coaches, myself included, have thought about the “are you kidding me?” kind of scenario and then start to think about what could’ve prevented the injury from happening. You start to blame yourself and wonder what you could have done in order to keep the athlete safe. Did I teach them a wrong grip? Did I not explain something thoroughly?
One of the most damaging things to an athlete is the neglect of their mental health and the severity of their injuries by coaches and assistant coaches who are ignorant of this behavior. Injuries can sideline athletes for days, weeks, months, and even an entire season and the athletes are fully aware of the risks they’re putting themselves in when they sign up for the sport.
This whole “stick through it” mindset is simply a myth. While athletes today have better access to injury treatment, coaches that have been involved with the sport for a period of time might have a completely different mindset as that’s not how they were raised to treat an injury. Many were taught that if a bone wasn’t sticking out, you weren’t dead and you weren’t bleeding to just rub some dirt on it, suck it up and get back to practice.
Thankfully athletes have sports medicine professionals who are experts in the area and can give athletes a timeline on when they can return to 100% participation. It’s then on the coaches to put their faith and trust into the professionals and believe that what they’re saying is what’s right for the athlete.
Too often are we seeing coaches misdirecting their disappointment of losing an injured athlete and ultimately becoming angry with the athlete that sustained the injury. Expressing anger towards the athlete that got injured is the first red flag.
This anger and negativity can be interpreted in many ways by athletes. Believe it or not, it’s a common mistake for coaches to ignore athlete injuries until they walk in the gym next practice with a doctor’s note or they receive a message from their parents saying they’ve been seen by a doctor.
I understand the ‘neglectful behavior’ displayed by coaches if they’re in the middle of a practice or at a competition and they’re focused on trying to figure out what’s best for their team at that moment. The behavior needs to be recognized and quickly checked so the athlete doesn’t suffer anymore negative consequences.
The rehabilitation stages for an athlete can be brutal and draining. These athletes are in the sport because they love the sport and they enjoy being around their teammates and friends, how can coaches involve the athlete so that they don’t feel left out?
Even if the athlete is left to sit on the sidelines, including them in the practice and getting their input on things might be beneficial to both the coach and the rest of the team. If they’re out for a period of time, they might have to teach another athlete their parts in the routine so the coach can fill a gap on the floor.
How does a coach avoid neglecting behavior towards injured athletes?
By recognizing that this happens all too often is the first step. But, the problem can easily be avoided entirely if the coach takes proper steps in communicating with both the athlete and their parents in a way that’ll be understandable and help the athlete realize that they aren’t being ignored.
Making sure you set aside time to talk to the athlete and see how they’re doing is also going to be super beneficial if not a game-changer for the healing process. Making sure you and your athlete are on the same page and just having a status check will rid that neglectful feeling. It’s so important to let the athlete know that the coaches care about them, and think of them even when it seems like they aren’t.
Coaches have a significant impact on the cheerleaders as they develop both as individuals and athletes. It’s important that all athletes receive the same attention, injured or not. Giving an injured athlete the proper attention, letting them know that you’re there if they need anything in their rehabilitation process, can be so crucial for helping an athlete recover from the injury.
One of the most important things I learned as a coach was building a trusting and caring relationship with each one of your athletes. Knowing that the athletes can put their trust in you, makes the sport more gratifying and assures you that you're doing your job. Being a coach can be stressful, but if we're able to identify different behaviors and handling situations such as an injury can take a bit of the stress off of our shoulders.
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