Life on the Sidelines
Injuries are a feared reality that every athlete hopes to avoid throughout their athletic careers.
The missed playing time, the hours spent in rehab and obviously the pain of the injury itself are several of the worst fears competitive athletes face. For two returning starters on the USU football team, that feared scenario has become a frustrating reality.
Senior tight end Rob Myers and sophomore fullback Jacob Actkinson were both projected to start at their respective positions again this season when the team began practice in August. Myers was the Aggies’ top returner in pass catches, receiving yards and touchdown receptions coming into 2008. Actkinson returned after starting at fullback as a freshman last season, where he was fourth on the team in receiving yards and reached the end zone two times.
By the time the Aggies took the field for their season debut against UNLV on Aug. 30, the book had already been shut on Myers’ and Actkinson’s 2008 season.
“It felt like someone ripped my heart out,” Myers said of when he was told that he would not be able to play in 2008.
Actkinson said, “It was the biggest bummer ever,” when he learned that his injury was going to be season-ending.
The breaking of the news to Myers and Actkinson sent their seasons down a much different path than that of their teammates, a path that includes surgeries, crutches, arm-slings, and hours upon hours of rehab.
Despite the injuries, the players stay close to the team during their rehab process. Head coach Brent Guy, talking about the practice schedule of the injured players, said that just because they’re injured doesn’t mean they are isolated totally from the team.
“They’ll rehab early on during practice and then they’ll come out and watch team (practice) so they can still stay into it a little bit. They’ll still attend meetings so they can stay into it mentally,” he said.
Guy said that one of the most important things of keeping injured players’ morale up is to keep them close to the rest of the team.
“When they get isolated is when they get depressed,” Guy said.
Injured players are not without the company of the medical staff as they work their way back to playing shape. Dr. Trek Lyons, team physician, said that the players will work with strength coaches and physical therapists while they’re kept away from football activities.
“I do rehab four days a week,” Actkinson said.
On top of rehab, players will spend time doing whatever strength training they can still do without being affected by their injuries. Actkinson said he spends at least seven or eight hours a week working out on top of the hours spent in rehab.
Lyons said the injured players are often given treatment protocols to follow as they rehab their injuries. Lyons described the protocols as a framework and a guide map for athletes to know what they’re looking for to overcome and also for possible things to watch for in the process.
“The great thing about working with athletes is the great majority of them are highly motivated,” Lyons said. “They want to excel and push themselves and that part is rewarding.”
While Actkinson still has a junior and senior year of football in front of him after his injury, Myers’ future is much more in doubt because of 2008 being his senior year. Myers said he is applying to the NCAA for a medical hardship for the 2008 season, which would make him eligible to play his senior year in 2009 if the the hardship is approved.
“Some guys get it and some guys don’t,” Myers said. “It’s kind of up in the air with this medical waiver, but we’re doing paperwork and are definitely going to file for it.”
Despite not knowing if he’ll ever take the field again in an Aggie uniform, Myers is staying committed to the team.
“I’ll be out there helping those guys as much as possible cheering them on the sidelines during game,” he said.
With the 2009 season in mind, both Actkinson and Myers are optimistic about the chance to make a triumphant return to the playing field.
“It’s going to feel great,” Actkinson said. “It’s going to be a long process until then. I’ve got from now until spring ball to get ready and prepared for that and earn my spot back.”
When asked to speculate on the feeling of returning to the end-zone if he returns in 2009, Myers said he has almost forgotten what it feels like.
“It’ll definitely feel good and hopefully I’ll remember what it feels like when I get there,” he said.
–matt.sonn@aggiemail.usu.edu
USU sophomore linebacker Jordan Glass, left, talks with USU safety Caleb Taylor during Friday’s loss to BYU. Glass is out for the year. (Cameron Peterson)