Connor Martin ’14: Injuries are without a doubt the most unfortunate aspect of athletics. In any sport on any level, they occur constantly, something that is in reality inevitable. They aren’t necessarily related to the level of aggressiveness of a player, as anybody on the field, court, or pool is susceptible to any wide range of injuries at any given moment. The majority of these occurrences are freak injuries, instances where typical athletic movements prove to be detrimental. For example, a wide receiver making a cut on his route and tearing his knee or a basketball player jumping and landing on a teammate’s foot, breaking their ankle. Whether we like it or not, these types of injuries are going to happen, it is just a matter of how a team is going to respond.
This fall, it has been evident how essential it is for backups to always work hard and constantly be prepared, because many key contributors to the EA athletic program have been lost to injuries, whether they were minor or season-ending. Especially on the football team, a few senior leaders, Rich Palazzese ’14 and Terrell Smith ’14 in particular, have been lost to possible season ending injuries. Add those losses to the long list of other starters and contributors who have gone down at some point, and the team finds itself relying heavily on inexperienced underclassmen, including freshmen starters Jon’avin Freeman ’17 and C.J. Mcnally ’17. Co-captain Mike Watkins ’14 emphasized the importance of young talent, declaring, “It’s huge that we have some really good young players who have been able to step into such big varsity roles so fast.” Co-captain Evan Butts ’14 elaborates, “Richie has done so much for this team even though he has been sidelined. Helping out with the younger kids, mentoring them and making them more comfortable in practice and on the field has been huge.” Although they may not be able to play, injured players are most definitely still a significant part of the team, helping with the team spirit and morale.
Similarly to the football team, the girls’ soccer squad have persevered through extreme adversity, doing their best to make up for the losses of vital teammates Nicole Bonella ’14, Leah Becker ’15, and Claire Smith ’16. Despite these detrimental injuries, the girls have remained very competitive behind the leadership of Meredith Manley ‘14 and Namia Gallegos ‘14. Manley commented, “There’s nothing we can really do about injuries other than make sure everyone is on the same page and move forward.” She pointed out one loss in particular, Leah Becker ‘15 who is committed to Boston College and scored the majority of their goals last season. Manley cited Emma Brumbaugh ‘14 in particular as one girl who has rose to the occasion and helped fill some of the missing pieces, as Brumbaugh has proven to be a dynamic offensive weapon. Manley hinted that having some of their friends sidelined gives them even more motivation, stating, “The team really comes together and plays for the girls on the bench because we all know they would kill to be out on the field. We wouldn’t be doing them justice if we didn’t leave everything out on the field.”
Out on the pitch for the boys’ soccer team has unfortunately been no different. Even more devastating for them has been the number of senior leaders who have missed at least some chunk of game time: Dutch Buckley ‘14, Ayo Maja ‘14, John Tyson ‘14, Wills Singley ‘14, and Tyler Haab ‘14. Because of such misfortune, Head Coach David Knox has been scrambling for answers all year long. Senior starter Jack Keffer ‘14 commented, “A lot of freshmen and sophomores have stepped up and contributed some great minutes which is great to see because they work extremely hard every day in practice.”
Now more than ever, everyone on each team should realize how important they are to their teammates. Everyone plays a role, as we at EA lose as one and win as one .