"Everyone goes through adversity in life, but what matters is how you learn from it." --Lou Holtz
In life no matter what you do, you will deal with adversity. How you deal with adversity will be a large determinant as to the character of oneself. The Plainfield North cross country team is no stranger to adversity and this season we have been dealing with our fair share. Every cross country program out there I'm sure is dealing with some sort of adversity. How you deal with that adversity will affect the outcome of the season. Our top runner is dealing with a stress fracture. Our second runner is dealing with gluteal tendinitis. Another member of our top 7 has been out with severe shin splints. Another guy who would be challenging for our top 7 has been dealing with a multitude of injuries. An underclassman from our top 7 last year made the decision to not go out for cross country to focus on other areas of his life.
It would have been easy for us to deal with our adversity by throwing in the towel. Our other team members could have said 5 guys that potentially could be in our top 7 aren't running so why should I put in the effort? But, instead, the guys that have injuries are working twice as hard and the guys without injuries are working their tails off because they know their teammates are coming back strong. There's no greater motivator than your teammates and our guys are doing a fantastic job of pushing each other. As our Head Coach Andy Derks says we're putting in great work every day no matter if we're running, biking, swimming or doing strength work.
To any cross country coach, athlete or parent reading this, we all know that injuries occur no matter how much preventative action you take. You can be ART'ed, activated, MAT'ed, K-taped, supplemented, etc but at the end of the day, cross country stresses the body in a repetitive manner. I can beat myself up about why our top runner got a stress fracture but there are always variables that you can't control. Any time you do something repetitively, you run the risk of injury. There are certainly ways to help prevent injuries but in my professional opinion, there is no one way to prevent ALL injuries despite what some may say so you must learn to deal with the adversity that life presents.
Some parents may not want their children to play sports. In fact a few of our athletes are going through this type of adversity. But for me, sports have taught me more about life than anything else I've ever done. I've dealt with adversity and overcome it time and time again in my athletic career. The young men of Plainfield North cross country that I coach are great and as they transition into adulthood, they will do fantastic things. We're dealing with our adversity in a positive manner, how are you dealing with yours?
-Dr. Brian Damhoff