Physical saftey in the NFL has been controversial in the news recently but few people consider how this discussion relates to the athletes in our school. Athletes representing New Trier work hard to bring home win after win, but at what cost? You will never find the athletic training room empty during lunch periods, after school, and after practices end.

Dale Grooms, one of New Trier’s athletic trainers, estimates that “even on a slow day, at least 100-200 athletes visit the training room throughout the day.” Whether it’s just for ice or rehabilitating a sprained ankle, athletes are paying the price for athletic success. Is the pressure to succeed in New Trier athletics pushing students too hard and ultimately resulting in their injury?

Many athletes do believe that there is an unusual amount of pressure on them in New Trier. Courtney Lewis, a member of the JV volleyball team, agrees with this and believes that it has a negative impact on the injury recovery process. She says: “I think it’s the fact that it’s so competitive and they cut so many people. Even if you’re injured, you feel like you need to come back faster so you don’t get behind.”

During the summer between her freshman and sophomore year Lewis suffered a knee injury that prevented her from playing. Though she was told to sit out for a month, Courtney felt she had to come back early in order to participate in the “non-required” summer school clinic before try outs in order to give her the best opportunity of making the team. Because of New Trier’s competitive nature, athletes feel that if they take the appropriate time to recover, they will fall behind their teammates and ultimately lose playing time.

Another athlete on the track team says: “The amount of pressure to recover quickly is unbelievable. You have to choose between keeping up with the team and worsening your injury or taking the time to fully recovering and become 100% and losing your place on the team”. Students are pressured to put their loyalty to the team first before their health.

This is not the way the New Trier athletic trainers see it. Grooms believes that “every school is going to give you that pressure to be as successful as you can.”

Grooms sees no connection between the high amounts of pressure and increased amounts of sport injuries. Though athletes and trainers seem to disagree on whether New Trier puts too much pressure on our athletes, it is clear that the issue of sports injuries is controversial. Though most athletes are not playing at a professional level, many athletes are obtaining serious injuries that, if not recovered properly, could ultimately result in a lifelong injury.