This is part two of a four-part series. To read part one and get caught up, click here.
At a Navarro Cheer practice, an athlete named Morgan is in excruciating pain, clenching her ribs as she tries to gather her thoughts and figure out how this injury happened. It’s every flyer’s worst nightmare: falling out of a stunt and not having your bases catch you and they hit the floor. Morgan’s afraid to tell her coach in fear that her coach will be more annoyed that she’s injured rather than be caring and actually make sure she’s okay and doesn’t need medical attention. She then goes to the ER but refuses the treatment as the muscle relaxers would prevent her from practicing and her team is getting ready for Nationals in Daytona, FL. Any other stress on her ribs could be fatal, but she pushes and returns to practice.
Credit: Women's Health
Morgan’s situation isn’t the only time that athletes
have been afraid to tell their coaches they’re injured. It happens way too often, honestly; An athlete sustains an injury and either A) tells the coach they’re fine, but they get home and it’s actually worse than what they actually described to their coach, or B) don’t tell the coach at all because they know the coach will either be annoyed or not believe them because they want to get out of practice.
According to a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics, cheerleading was the leading sport in catastrophic injuries with 65 percent. While a large majority of injuries that occur in cheerleading aren't fatal, there are some that are truly life-changing.
Makayla Noble, 18, a grand world champion who dazzled whenever she performed. One wrong landing at a friend’s house prior to a homecoming pep rally changed the rest of her life. Noble landed on her neck and face, suffering a severe spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed. Doctors told her that she would never walk again, but she was ready to prove them wrong.
Her story is inspiring, she documents her journey on Instagram at @/makaylasfightofficial, showing her struggles and triumphs as she continues to grow stronger each day. Makayla truly has shed a light on the cheerleading community, showing how difficult it can be to come back from an injury, especially one like she suffered.
Credit: makaylanoble on Instagram.
But her story is just one of many. For those that cheer at Cheer Athletics, there came a moment of deja vu. Haylee Alexander, a 16 year old, suffered a traumatic brain injury in August of this year after she was dropped to her head during cheer practice. As of December 3, Haylee Grace remains in rehab, but she is finally able to be at home with her family when she is not in therapy.
Credit: _.hayleegrace._ on Instagram
How Much is Too Much?
Many cheerleaders face a lot of mental and physical problems outside of cheer. In the Netflix show, Cheer, athletes express that they’ve dealt with childhood abuse, legal problems, family tragedies/losses, and mental health.
Athletes find a second home in their gym because they’re able to escape reality for a little while and be able to just be themselves. Being able to come and talk to their friends, or even their coaches is sometimes a huge game changer in them.
Athletes need to know the right coping skills, especially when it comes to injury. As an athlete, you’re trained to suppress the negative feelings and put those aside until you’re alone. Those with poor coping skills are going to be prone to get injured easier. Cheerleading is a sport where split-second decisions have to be made, and if cheerleaders aren’t thinking right, they could potentially injure themselves or other teammates.
Many athletes are injured year after year and often ignore the injury until the end of the season when it's sometimes too late to fully treat it. I talked with veteran athlete now coach Allison Charniak about her experiences when it came to injuries in sport. Allison is the type of athlete that pushes through anything, and will sometimes lie about the injury so she doesn't have to miss a practice or even a competition.
"I always pushed through injuries because I didn't want to let my team down," Charniak said. "I was told by all of my coaches and even teammates to go see a doctor, but I didn't want to. I didn't want my cheer career to be over."
The aspect of mental health when it comes to athletes recovering from injuries is rarely talked about. The effects can show differently from athlete to athlete but one thing they all have in common is that cheerleading is brutal on an athlete's self-esteem and confidence.
Even outside of the injury perspective, the mental injury one can cause to themselves is something that isn't discussed as much as it should be. With cheerleading being such a highly competitive and physically demanding sport, a majority of athletes truly don't realize what they're doing to not only their bodies, but their minds as well. Making sure that they're giving themselves a break is crucial, not only for themselves, but for their team. One exhausted or burnt out athlete can be jeopardizing and increase risk of injury.
"I didn't realize how bad I was injuring my body and even my mind by not allowing myself to take a break and rest," Allison says. "I never took a step back and realized how much pain I was experiencing and how much it affected my mental health until I was done being an athlete."
Being sidelined isn't easy, but it can be prevented. Nothing breaks my heart more than hearing an athlete has to cut their cheerleading career short because they pushed themselves through an injury and the injury is now far past the point of being fully treated.
Athletes: Take a break when you need to. You deserve it.
Below I've attached some resources athletes and even parents can explore.
Resources
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