Student-athletes harbor big dreams and even bigger aspirations. But sometimes, injuries can derail their hopes. So how do they take on the mental setback that usually accompanies being on the shelf?
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Anna Babiak started playing soccer at just five years old. She got her first concussion at 15 while playing goalie for Strikers Futbol Club. Babiak was kicked in the head and diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. Since then, throughout high school and college, she suffered through four concussions, eight head injuries, and one hip surgery while playing soccer.
ANNA BABIAK: Growing up, soccer was a big part of my life. Throughout the years, I went to college and I started to get some more severe mental illness issues because the game of soccer in college is so much more pressure.
And yet, there is this drive to continue.
BABIAK: You keep getting all these injuries and you keep having to sit out, and you can’t play and you’re afraid that you’re going to lose your spot. You’re afraid that you’re not going to be as good as you were before. Going back in, your self-esteem gets so low to where you can’t pick yourself back up.
Football can also be dangerous. Former USC defensive end, Christian John Bradley made the team in 2014, but just three weeks later, he tore ligaments in his right knee and had to have surgery. Bradley says the injury destroyed his hopes and dreams.
CHRISTIAN JOHN BRADLEY: That broke my body but also broke my mind. Like, I was just definitely in a period of depression. I just felt numb at that point because I didn’t want to really accept the fact that, “Okay, this actually happened to me.”
For Bradley, the injury was a huge setback.
BRADLEY: Mentally and physically, like, I remember in that time... it was a dark time, to be honest. Like, because of all that time building up and all the hope I had.
Anna Babiak says “you have to be there for your team” and you have to play your best.
BABIAK: But when you go home, you can have a breakdown and nobody knows about it because you can’t have that image attached to your playing time or your game. And so, a lot of athletes feel this pressure to not have any mental illness, and it’s kind of like mental illness in sports is stigmatized to be embarrassing rather than being courageous.
Babiak’s injuries occurred a few years back, but the consequences are as present as ever.
BABIAK: I still struggle with mental illness every day and I still have depressive episodes. I still have anxiety, and it’s just something that unfortunately is never going to go away. Because of my head injuries, this mental illness is instilled in me.
For many student-athletes, winning – or at least doing well – in the face of all these injuries and illnesses will be their greatest victory.