Injuries deny athletes chance to compete

Although it started out as a typical field hockey game, sophomore Nidhi Vellanki knew something was wrong when she saw her knee bent at an unnatural angle. As she fell to the ground, she heard a slight pop and crack. She lay helplessly on the grass as the game was called to a halt.

Vellanki tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee at Gilroy High in an Oct. 9 match, about halfway through leagues this year— one of dozens of athletes who lose parts of seasons or whole seasons to severe injuries.

“I couldn’t get up for around ten minutes, and [even then] I couldn’t stand,” Vellanki said. “So I got to ride on a golf cart.”

As Vellanki, who plays center defender, reached for the ball, her knees suddenly locked up due to a recurring knee problem. Vellanki was in crutches for about one month after her injury.

Although she doesn’t need crutches anymore, Vellanki is still unable to jump or even bend or straighten her leg completely. Consequently, she has been unable to play any sport for a few months.

“After I found out that I couldn’t play sports for a while, I was really disappointed,” Vellanki said. “After I got injured, I didn’t show up to a few field hockey games because I couldn’t stand watching the game on the sidelines.”

Vellanki is part of the girls’ basketball team, but she cannot play in games. Vellanki said she is doing rehab exercises in hopes that she can she can try to participate in games later in the season.

Sadly, Vellanki is becoming accustomed to major injuries. This knee injury is just one of many that she has received while playing field hockey and basketball. Vellanki has sprained both her ankles more than 10 times, gotten two concussions, and even had nerve damage and microfractures in her elbow.

Similar to Vellanki, sophomore Christine Schlossareck injured her knee during a practice run with the girls’ cross country team this past season.

As she ran downhill, her knee turned in, causing the meniscus in her knee to become irritated and swollen.  This was not Schlossareck’s first injury during cross country; she also strained her hip muscle during freshman year.

Schlossareck’s injury happened just before the first meet was scheduled, so it continued to bother her throughout most of the season.

“It was hard and painful to walk for the first few weeks, let alone run,” Schlossareck said. “I had to completely stop running and just ice [the injured knee] and rest it.”

To get her knee back to its original strength, Schlossareck stayed on turf for two weeks before gradually going on short runs.

“When I realized I couldn’t run [properly], I was frustrated and felt like I would not be able to get back into shape like the rest of the girls,” Schlossareck said.

Schlossareck was glad she was able to recover in time to run for the last two regular meets of the season.

“It feels good to be able to run again and participate in cross country with my teammates,” Schlossareck said.