By Connor Trett
Published: May. 24, 2024 at 1:53 PM CDT|Updated: 6 hours ago
SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - The month of May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and we’ve been bringing you stories throughout the month on the topic of mental health. KTIV spoke with local athletes to get their perspective.
Injuries definitely take a toll on an athlete’s physical health; the road to recovery can be a long one and take a toll on an athlete’s mental health as well. One of the more common season-ending injuries we hear about is a tear of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament, or ACL, in the knee.
KTIV spoke with local college football players to see how a season-ending injury like a torn ACL, and the road to recovery that follows, can affect their physical and mental health.
Briar Cliff linebacker Brett Tinker and Northwestern Wide Receiver Tanner Schouten are both working to get back on the field after both suffering torn ACLs.
In 2023, Tinker, who was following a season where he was named 2nd team all-conference and finished with one of the best defensive seasons in school history, was out for the year after suffering a torn ACL during practice.
“The first quarter of the first game, I was like, you know, don’t really want to be here. I kind of just want to go sulk, but then I realized that’s not what a good teammate is,” said Tinker.
And Tanner Schouten, who just won a National Championship with Northwestern a year earlier, could only watch as his teammates played for a second national title after tearing his ACL in the first game of the 2023 regular season.
“That wasn’t as fun as I thought it was going to be,” said Schouten about being on the sidelines of the national championship game. “It’s pretty killing inside when you have to see your buddies playing for the national championship and you can’t be out there.”
KTIV spoke with sports psychologist, Dr. Josefine Combs, on the effects injuries like this can have on athletes and struggles that can come with them.
“Our bodies are evolutionarily speaking, wired to remember fear,” said Dr. Combs. “So if something hurt me, if something got me in trouble, I’m supposed to remember that to make sure I don’t get in that same trouble again. And that can sometimes lead to what we call a fear avoidance response. So sometimes athletes can experience a mental block or just an increased anxiety or fear of whatever situation it was that they got hurt in. And then that can certainly spread and make the return harder.”
Dr. Combs went on to say that staying involved with your team can have great positive effects while on your road to recovery. Throughout the 2023 season, both players found ways to help their team from the sidelines.
“I know you can get down on yourself and kind of stray away from the game itself. But you always got to stay active into the game, stay involved with the team,” said Schouten. “Now you’re talking with the younger guys keeping them into the game and like helping them with different play calls and reading different coverages.”
Once they’re cleared to play physically, a mental hurdle they may still have to get past is the lingering memory of the injury.
“You have this body part that just all your life has done its job. And you know, you don’t think about it much, but then you have this basically forced timeout, that usually also comes with a lot of pain,” said Dr. Combs. “So that raises awareness, now you’re thinking constantly about it. And it kind of starts taking up this huge space in your life where it wasn’t before.”
“There’s always going to be that thought in the back of your mind,” said Schouten. “Like, it was just one simple cut that took me out for a season. So like going back into the next coming football season, just keeping your head high and knowing that God’s got a plan”
“The mental aspect, just finding a way to trust it again, trust your knee, trust your cutting,” said Tinker. “Spring ball was really good for me this year, because I was able to kind of pick and choose which ones I can do and what and just get in there and kind of get over that mental barrier without actually putting myself in harm’s way.”
Throughout the months of extra work and post-surgery physical therapy, a strong support system and driving force are crucial for keeping on track.
“It takes a village to play sports successfully, whether it’s the support staff, coaches, athletic trainers, your teammates, it is usually a group effort. Even in individual sports, there’s usually a team behind that person or at least collaborators. So having a strong support system can be extremely helpful,” said Dr. Combs.
“Just this team that we have right now. We got a lot of good guys here,” said Tinker. “We’re going to have something special coming next year. So there’s absolutely nowhere else I’d rather be I want to be a part of that.”
“My parents were always there for me they’re always reaching out to me making sure that everything was going good. They were always there texting me throughout the day, wondering how PT was going, just constantly checking up on me like how my PT process is going,” said Schouten. “I could not have done it without them. My parents are amazing. And appreciate them.”
Copyright 2024 KTIV. All rights reserved.
