Varsity football team plays with injuries

The+varsity+team+tries+to+get+the+ball+through+Del+Valles+defense.+The+play+ended+with+a+tackle%2C+and+the+ball+falling.

Peter Dang

The varsity team tries to get the ball through Del Valle’s defense. The play ended with a tackle, and the ball falling.

The football season has just begun and some players can definitely feel the effect that these first few games have had on players. From varsity to JV there has been a range of injuries, from a few aches and pains to severe injuries, even injuries that require surgery.

Starting linebacker Zach Stachura is one of the few football players that have experienced an injury on the field. 

 “I planted my knee at full speed and I felt a pop in my knee,” Stachura said.

Injuries are something that all athletes are wary of, but due to the physical contact in football, the chances of injury are significantly greater. 

“The recovery room is quite busy at all hours of the day,” Stachura said.

There are players coming in for rehabilitation on pre-season or practice injuries, and a few from any recent games that they have played. 

“We have a lot of players playing on offense and defense,” Trainer Brittani Thibodeaux said. 

Injuries can also lead to players being more beat up on the field in the long run due to them playing more time then they are used to. 

“Me being injured has switched around different linebackers and their positions,” Stachura said.  

Many players have to bounce back and forth from the O line to the defense to accommodate their injuries. 

When player options are limited and players have to play more than usual, it doesn’t matter what level you’re playing, you’re bound to feel fatigued or more sore than usual.

“We’ve had a lot of defensive players get hurt, but also quite a few JV players, and that’s where most of our injuries are right now, most of our injuries aren’t really in our varsity,” Stachura said. 

The overall consensus for injuries is that age, position, and playing time aren’t recurring reasons for any injuries, it’s just unlucky.  

“There [aren’t] similarities in the injuries these players have, it’s just timing,” said Thibodeaux.