Christian Hirschboeck ’25
Sports Editor
Hirschboeckcia@lakeforest.edu
The conclusion of a Division III collegiate athlete’s regular season may typically provide a sense of relief as they shed their sporting obligations for the time being until captain’s practices and team lifts start up again months later, but for athletes who were seriously injured while in-season, this is a time that particularly wears hard on both the physical and mental fronts of students.
In season, a long-term injury brings the clear issue of no longer being able to participate in athletic competition. On the bright side, injured athletes are supported by their teammates in their recovery and at least are typically able to still attend practice, which allows them to enjoy some comradery and the social benefits of being a college athlete. Once the season ends, however, those interactions are no longer guaranteed, and often players go their own ways for the time being.
“Obviously, the pain and discomfort that comes with surgery made things hard, and when I found out that my career was over, it was difficult to come to terms mentally,” said former Men’s Soccer Captain and starting goalkeeper Szymon Mocarski. “However, having the support of my team and coaches led me to have a more leader-esque role on the sideline.” In a 2-0 loss against Wheaton College early in the 2023 fall season, Mocarski went up in the air to collect a ball off of a Wheaton cross, tearing his ACL and meniscus simultaneously as an opposing attacker landed on his knee, ending his senior season and collegiate soccer career entirely.
“The training staff, especially Lewis Secor, have been incredibly supportive in my recovery,” Mocarski said. “They helped me not only recover physically but also kept things lighthearted, which helped make the whole journey easier.”
This change can be a lot to bear for some students. An athlete goes from being around the sport and their teammates every day to potentially not seeing them until participation starts up again. This change in social life is certainly a challenge, but it is not the only one. Being in a sport allows athletes to get into a flow for managing workload, de-stressing, and even determining what to do with their free time. Being forcefully disengaged from that environment can be something difficult to bear.
: “Coming into my sophomore year I had high hopes of building on a great freshman year, but that feeling of optimism was gone once I got injured,” an athlete who asked to have their name withheld said about the time dealing with their injury; “It’s tough seeing all of your teammates getting to work day in and out when you know you can’t yourself and that there is nothing you can do about it. Even though I couldn’t be on the field with them this season, being there every step of the way made the injury not be as hard to deal with. Every athlete has experienced injuries, but I personally hadn’t experienced one that kept me out for as long as this one, so that was definitely tough to swallow. It has been a long road back to recovery, and I am still working towards that every day with the help of our athletic trainers.”
For athletes, and first-years specifically, managing how to deal with these changes can be either seamless, or extremely difficult, especially if they are dealing with an injury carried over from the season.
“When the season was over, all I had left was my PT, and I didn’t know what to really do with myself, said the athlete. “I wouldn’t say I had full-blown depression, but being unable to really do anything in terms of training or going to the gym has been mentally very tough. Thankfully I can lift again and train a bit, but dealing with that empty time in the beginning was hard.”
Lake Forest College itself has the privilege of having wonderful athletic facilities, especially for the NCAA Division III level, and paired with a fantastic group of trainers and athletes, injured athletes are given the resources to make full physical recovery and recuperate from their mental hurdles.
The physical implications of an injury are clear, but the mental challenges are rarely spoken about on a public basis. Adjusting to these barriers while in the midst of an already major change is extremely difficult, but it is important to remember that instances like these are a test of strength and resilience, and each step forward is a triumph against adversity.
