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Behind the Scenes with Women's Soccer
April 07, 2013 | Women's Soccer
April 5, 2013
Throughout the spring semester, GoCards.com will provide weekly updates on the Louisville women's soccer program in the "Behind the Scenes" blog. For the month of April, Angelika Uremovich gives a glimpse into the world of the Cardinals.
Injuries bring out the best in athletes, teams and families...by Angelika Uremovich
Elite athletes are taught that if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. So we hydrate, we get in our eight hours of sleep, we train to win and we fuel our bodies with the essentials for good performance (and man, can we eat!). But how does one prepare him or herself for an injury? How is an athlete to know of the physical and emotional challenges that they may face as they are kept off of the field, the court, the green or the track? More importantly, how can an athlete keep their spirits high and continue to make an impact on their beloved team?
Unfortunately, injuries are prominent in competitive sport and are a risk that elite athletes take for the love of the game. Our team has seen all sorts of injuries: fractured vertebrae, fractured hips, pelvises and ankles, dislocated shoulders, concussions, and, of course, the infamous ACL tear. Some injuries have a more definite rehabilitation process. The general recovery time for ACL reconstructive surgery is six months, but that time means little to sophomores Shannon Dennehey and Hannah Konnerman, who spent hours every day in treatment to return quickly to the pitch.
Sophomore Kim Sharo has been battling a longer recovery process, but with her determination and undying love for the game, has been making great strides recently. Jimmy Dorneman, our amazing team athletic trainer, has dedicated himself to playing a crucial role in returning our players to health. It is in these shared experiences with teammates and other athletes in the Cardinal family that athletes find some comfort and inspiration with dealing with their injuries. Our wonderful families and friends provide the endless support we need when bad news is given, then encouragement when we figure out the right approach to handling our injury.
Junior Julie Casselman is who I think of when refer to "the right approach" to handling an injury. Due to concussions, she has been indefinitely taken away from playing the sport she loves. Despite the grief of facing her situation, Julie has found an inspiring role on our team and continues to train (though limited) to push her teammates to their potentials. Her passion translated into a selfless desire to make her team better, regardless of how that was to be done. Injured athletes, with the right attitude, can continue to have a major positive influence on their team. This weekend, Cardinal fans were inspired by the altruistic actions of Kevin Ware.
There was no shortage of tears shed for Kevin Ware of the men's basketball team. Endless support was and is being given to him from his team, family and friends, and from public via social media. Despite his gruesome injury, he took measures to ensure that his teammates collected themselves and #WinforWare.
On behalf of the women's soccer team, I would like to extend our positive thoughts and support to Kevin Ware and the men's basketball team as they head to Atlanta for the NCAA Final Four this weekend, and to the women's basketball team as they head to New Orleans for their Final Four. Wait... both men's and women's basketball teams are headed to the Final Four?! L1C4 baby. What a university we Cardinals are lucky to represent.
Teammates, coaches, trainers, families and friends provide athletes with the love and support they need when facing an injury. But when it comes down to it, it is the drive and mentality of the athlete that ultimately determines their recovery process. For an injury is simply a challenge. If my trainer tells me I'll be back on the field in five months, I'm going to make it four months and three weeks. I will repeat my exercises when I get home, I will be involved in practices and encourage my teammates, and I will smile through the pain, for there are people going through far more difficult challenges. After all, it is not the outcome, but the journey that makes us individuals of great strength.
I'd like to add a massive thank you to my family, teammates, coaches and friends who have been supporting me through my own triumphs and challenges. The smallest gesture never goes unnoticed.
