Courtesy of Ben Guo and Kunal Bhatnagar

Both Guo and Bhatnagar have played key roles for their teams despite their injuries.

As the football team scored a touchdown on a recent Friday night, junior football player and former starter Ben Guo, who had been an offensive lineman, stood on the sidelines, frantically marking down statistics of the game’s action while simultaneously cheering his teammates on. 

Guo is one of many student athletes who show that injuries don’t necessarily signify an absence of impact. Though injured, sidelined athletes still contribute  to the team in supportive ways such as keeping stats, being a team manager or serving in a coaching role. 

Water polo captain Kunal Bhatnagar, a senior, has also been on the sidelines for much of this season due to injuries, but he has continued to be a team leader. 

For Bhatnagar, his injury occurred on Sept. 18 during a late-game sequence against Milpitas. He took a direct strike to the eye from the ball during the fourth quarter, resulting in a concussion.

Since then, Bhatnagar has been supporting the team by taking a coach-like role. From observing and offering constructive feedback to teammates, he noticed that a lot of the goals scored on the team were from counterattacks. The observation helped the players keep an eye on their strengths as a group.

“For the past few weeks, I’ve gone to all of the games and helped out coaching from the bench,” Bhatnagar explained. “When players come out of the water, I try to give them specific feedback on areas they can improve. Each opponent plays differently, so it helps to adjust based on the team we’re facing.”

Although the spot-on critiques for the past weeks have been key to the team’s growth, the inability to play has been difficult for him. As a concussed player, Bhatnagar recently finished the process of completing the return-to-play protocol, a 2-week rehabilitation process facilitated by Kevin Attard, the school’s athletic trainer. 

Every day for half an hour, he completes exercises such as light walking and stationary biking to monitor whether the concussion symptoms re-emerge. 

Fortunately, the recovery process has been successful for Bhatnagar, and he is expected to be in the water soon.

“Being on the sidelines has shown me a different side of the game, but at the end of the day, I just can’t wait to be back in the pool competing with my teammates,” Bhatnagar said.

Football players find ways to contribute

Guo’s injury occurred on Nov. 24, 2024, during the last game of the season against Gunn. 

“During our home game, two people approached me from the left and right side, and the one from the left side brought my shoulders back about 270 degrees,” Guo said.

The tackle tore his shoulder labrum, a ring of fibrocartilage that deepens the socket of a shoulder joint. The tear required a hefty surgery, but Guo didn’t receive it until four months after the injury, prolonging his recovery period significantly and making him unable to take the field.

Though he can’t play this year, Guo is providing support on the sideline. 

He has worked alongside junior Sina Mohtaj-Khorassani, who held a role as a team manager this year after suffering concussion issues in the past. However, after Falcons were forced to forfeit due to numerous injuries before the Oct. 2 home game against Jefferson, Mohtaj-Khorassani decided to step up and started playing for the team since the game against El Camino on Oct. 10.

In addition to preparing water carts for their team, Guo takes notes on each player’s performance with numerical data to measure the performance of individual players.

Although the transition from being a starter of the team to taking statistics has been unusual, Guo believes it has broadened his understanding of football.

“Observing the team this season has given me a new perspective of the game,” Guo said. “Before, I [was] focused on one assignment as a player, but it’s thrilling to realize how everyone comes together to make a cohesive team, and different players rely on each other to create a unified group.”

Although Guo will cherish his valuable experiences and realizations on the sideline, he is excitedly anticipating his first chance to play, which is expected to be soon.

Senior wide receiver Jayden Kwong finds Mohtaj-Khorassani’s decision to return to the field after the forfeit as well as Guo’s continued assistance a meaningful way to support the team and the senior players’ last season on the field.

“After our forfeit to Jefferson, he [Mohtaj-Khorassani] felt horrible about the seniors having to forfeit a game during their last season and decided to take matters into his own hands and put the pads back on,” Kwong said. “Guo’s contribution as a stats keeper during games significantly improves our growth as a team, knowing that we have an extra person to observe the team’s performance.”