Reasonable parental expectations regarding athlete injury

Parents Forum
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<p>OP - I am a diving coach at a D3 college and have years of assistant coaching experience at several D1 colleges, as well as with high school and youth/club programs. We do not have Tivo at my college, because there are no funds for it. We did not have Tivo the entire time I was growing up as a diver or during college, nor did we have Tivo for any of the D1 colleges with which I was affiliated “back in the day.” It is a wonderful tool, and it certainly does enhance the diving experience and training, and your daughter is lucky to be at a robust program with these benefits. But Tivo does not prevent injuries, nor does perfect coaching (and there is no such thing as perfect coaching). </p>

<p>Accidents happen (and I’ll bet I know exactly which dive this injury occurred on, because I did the exact same thing when I was a senior in high school, under the direction of an Olympian as my coach). I know you are furious, but please try not to blame the coach, or the broken Tivo, or the health center. It is unfortunate, but she will be okay, and it could have been much, much worse. </p>

<p>You are hearing that the coach offered NO feedback about being too close to the board, but you are hearing that third-hand, albeit from your D; and even if true, there may be reasons for that – perhaps the coach felt that it was better to focus on corrections as to improvement of the dive distance as opposed to simply saying “you are too close to the board.” And I guess also in defense of the coach, since I am one, I am not sure why the coach’s newness to the team is an issue – if this is a D1 coach with a highly regarded program (which it must be if if it’s D1 and there are 8 divers), I would imagine the the coach has a good solid diving bio under his/her belt.</p>

<p>I also have two children who are collegiate athletes, one of whom has had many (some quite severe) athletic injuries, including a terrible one when she was a one-week old freshman 8 hours away from home and had to deal with all kinds of follow-up both within the college health center community and with outside local doctors and hospitals. I could not do much other than try to help with the insurance issues and try to communicate as best I could to make sure she was getting the best care she could. It was not easy on her or on our family. But I must say she really did step up and 1) learn to trust her instinct (when it was time to move on from the health center) and 2) take action and responsibility with respect to both her health care and with regard to issues with her coaches when she felt it was necessary. </p>

<p>So, as other posters have suggested, although your D is probably frightened and is hurting and will no doubt be pretty peeved at some point about missing some diving time her senior year, please do encourage her to address issues she has, especially with regard to the coaching staff, directly with them, and on her own. Pretty much what teriwtt said.</p>

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<p>Thanks, everyone for your comments, especially Rocky22. I mostly just needed to get an idea of how injuries are typically handled in a college athletic program. </p>

<p>I do not want to debate the benefits for TiVo. Fact is, it is there in a new facility, they have been using it all prior years (and she has been trained with it during her entire diving career), and the fact is, the coach was not providing feedback. </p>

<p>DD’s club diving was alongside the Olympians of the last two Olympics, including the last Gold Medalist. I know my way around dive training and DK knows her way around it even more, having been around Olympic coaches her entire diving career.</p>

<p>DK has been taught and trained to trust her coach with her safety. She does not disregard coaches. And she is not emotional or high-strung. She does her dive and moves to the next one. She does not balk and does not ‘dawdle’ or psych herself out on the board. She just goes. That’s the way she was trained.</p>

<p>I do not blame the coach–much. It is an injury that happens in diving—not often, but occasionally. I do believe either a coaching correction (of any type to address the closeness) or the TiVo would have helped prevent the injury. There were neither.</p>

<p>DK saw the hand doc today and (finally–10days post-injury) got it casted. He said the reason her hand was so swollen was because the splint had been applied too tightly. Luckily, there appears to be no lasting damage caused by the delay in casting or the tightness.</p>

<p>Thank you all for your comments. I have suggested to DK that she and the rest of the divers go en masse to the Diving Coach and request the TiVo be fixed and on up the line as needed.</p>

<p>She is very relieved to have the hand finally casted and to hear from the hand doc what the expectations are for length of time (only about 4 1/2 weeks including the time it was splinted vs 7-8 weeks the Health Services doctor estimated). She has an appointment in 2 weeks to take more x-rays, perhaps remove the cast and start rehabbing the fingers and hand. Right now she can’t move her fingers at all despite trying at his request. It is important to get those fingers moving. She will not be cleared to return to diving right away after the cast is removed. But she is looking forward to returning to conditioning and non-water workouts as soon as possible. She really misses her conditioning and cardio. </p>

<p>DK isn’t frightened, but she was hurting and anxious to see the hand doc as her hand continued to swell.</p>

<p>I was not furious, just irritated and unimpressed ----and frustrated that the coach continued to promise to get the TiVo fixed and yet still hasn’t. </p>

<p>But I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised at the low medical concern. As a freshman, one of her crew friends got nailed in the side of his head with a boat, knocked unconscious for a few minutes, taken to the ER and left there alone while coach returned to practice. Luckily, DK and a friend found out where he was and went to stay with him. Sustained a pretty serious concussion, so hardly in a position to take care of himself or to remember anything anyone at the hospital told him.</p>

<p>Thank you all for helping me determine what expectation in such a situation should be. I truly appreciate it!</p>

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<p>So glad to hear your daughter saw the hand specialist, and is under good medical care. I hope her recovery is uneventful! It sounds like she is in good hands (sorry about the pun).</p>

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<p>Hi treemaven - I think your advice to your D is spot-on! And I too am glad to hear it hopefully will be a (relatively) short recovery – she may have plenty of time to make it back for the last bunch of dual meets and league/post-season championships (I think I was back in the water within a few weeks of my similar injury). </p>

<p>I have to say, unless it were a life-threatening or really serious or critical injury, I would not (from my coach perspective) necessarily be contacting parents of my injured college athletes (it might be different for high school and youth). Part of what we’re trying to accomplish with our college student/athletes is helping them grow into mature, self-reliant young adults. So in that vein, I DEFINITELY would have followed up with an injured athlete herself, pretty quickly, and it does sound your D’s coach dropped the ball in that area. But good for your D for going on her own to a practice and not letting the coach simply forget about her. And it sounds very positive that she is already planning a return-to-play schedule, including interim dryland and strength training. Perfect!</p>

<p>I’m glad you have suggested that your D and teammates go en masse to coach re Tivo issue. I wouldn’t be too happy with a parent phoning in a complaint about what’s going on at our practices as they aren’t there and (while you may have years of knowledge about the sport), it would strike me as overbearing and not helping your college athlete learn to stand up for him/herself. I have been on the other side of this too - big time. I HAVE been furious with my kids’ coaches and their treatment of my kid but have done just what you did, treemaven, gave them advice, suggestions on what to say, how to approach the coach. Even though I really wanted to do more, but I had to resist! Also although I love my kids and trust their perception of things, I also acknowledge that I am only seeing their side of the situation; and they do have their faults and (sigh) are not always the athletes I want them to be (from a personality perspective). (that’s just my own personal situation, I am not implying anything with regard to OP’s D). </p>

<p>But the athletes themselves coming to me, especially altogether on an issue, that I would respond very positively to as a coach. It may be that the coach doesn’t have either the technological know-how to get the Tivo fixed and/or does not have the standing within the college coaching infrastructure to get the funding to get it done quickly – he/she may be relying on the swimming coach or AD, etc. So hopefully if the divers can sit him/her down and explain their real concern, it will prompt the coach to take the next step (whatever that may be) – it may be that the coach AND the divers need to approach the AD… there may be more involved than just “getting it fixed.” The job never ends! </p>

<p>Also I would strongly encourage your D (and other teammates) to say something to the coach along the lines of: What do you think I did that caused me to hit the board on that dive… Did I miss something in your instructions on previous dives? Focus on the “I feel, I wonder, I worry that…” not the “you didn’t coach me properly” tactic. Do you think if I’d seen the previous dive on Tivo I would have avoided the injury? Do you think maybe I didn’t translate your previous suggestions correctly on the dive where I got hurt? What do you think I can change with my approach/takeoff/arm position, etc. that may avoid this kind of thing again? The great thing is that your D will still be able to work on dryland approaches, hurdles, etc and maybe even do some trampoline/belt work if it’s available.</p>

<p>It is an interesting additional part of coaching to try to approach each athlete in the way that best produces positive results/reactions for that particular kid, because each of them has different personalities and may respond in completely different ways to a coach’s suggestions or approach. I do spend a lot of time paying close attention to the freshmen as far as social, personal, academic, even family issues (ie. everything else outside the sport), as they are dealing with lots of changes and transition coming into college. It’s a fine line because you want to be aware and a good listening ear, but you don’t want to be overly-involved with their personal lives. (A lot of freshmen “hate” their moms for awhile! It does go away, and I was on the other side of that too, so just be patient!!) It may be something I can improve on with respect to upperclassmen, though; we tend to think they are more “grown-up” as seniors (compared to the freshmen, they are), and it might be that OP’s D’s coach figured she’s a senior, she’s fine, she doesn’t need my follow-up. But they are still kids in so many ways, so they do! As I said, the job never ends.</p>

<p>On the issue of medical care & follow-up, which is your primary concern and question, I am wondering where the athletic trainers were during all this. As coaches, we do have basic first aid training, but nearly all colleges have certified, trained athletic trainers and staff who are supposed to be the conduit for guiding the athletes through the initial medical care process. It is hard for the coach to be with the injured athlete and with the remaining team at the same time, and if we are lucky we have assistant coaches who sometimes take over that role, but generally we rely on the trainers to step in. That is what I would have done in a situation like your D’s. So it sounds like there might be a disconnect in that area at your D’s college, which surprises me at a Div 1 school.</p>

<p>And I think (very much generalizing here) that I would never trust the college health center to properly treat an injury like your D’s. One of my kid’s health center had a pretty thin staff but plenty of baskets of condoms everywhere! There are nearly always hospitals or ER’s nearby that would be much better options for injuries like broken bones – I’m glad your D saw what sounds like a more experienced doctor and she is on her way to a proper recovery. I hope she bounces back and has a very successful and fun senior season!</p>

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<p>Thanks, Rocky22! Your posts provide a much-needed insight into the college coaching scene.</p>

<p>I was surprised coach took her to the Health Services instead of the ER. Don’t know where the ATs were—perhaps with the docs and the basketball team? I don’t even know how many they have. </p>

<p>Without the ‘advice’ of the Health Services personnel, I would have been able to talk her into going to the ER and/or the hand doc much earlier and easier. But, she trusted the Health Services people to know what they were doing. (Now, I believe she understands better how to assess when to go there and when to go off-campus. She said yesterday, after seeing the hand doc and noting the difference in approach and exam, “I just thought X University would have really good doctors”. I’m sure their doctors are just fine, but not always about everything).</p>

<p>DK is a very self-sufficient, self-training kid. She does what she is suppose to —and adds more of what she knows she needs. She has said since this coach started that they all feel he gives very little feedback and is more like a young puppy who wants to ‘hang out’ with them, go to movies, go out, etc. He’s young and new in town and knows no one but them. I’m surprised he doesn’t hang with the new assistant swim coaches around his age, but she says they are all a bit socially ‘weird’.</p>

<p>He is getting to know the kids and what motivates them—negativity or taunting does NOT motivate DD. She knows when a dive is bad, she just wants to know what mechanics she needs to adjust. The TiVo helps her interpret a coach’s corrections. She had no idea she was coming so close to the board or that the mechanics were off. She is her own worse critic, so she wasn’t likely to blow off something like that, in whatever form the correction came.</p>

<p>I asked her what happened with the dive and she said she doesn’t know—the coach missed the dive and no TiVo. She says he often misses their dives. They only have two boards and eight divers . . . . . . She was trained to wait for the coach’s ‘go’ nod or get his attention before going. (But even then, her club coach once in a blue moon would miss a dive, I know) Is that how they do it in college, too?</p>

<p>Rocky22, thanks for your insight. I really appreciate it!</p>

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<p>I was going to ask the age of the coach. I agree that is a red flag. He should not be hanging out with the divers in social situations like movies (IMO). </p>

<p>It does sound like she has a valid complaint that it was an accident that could have been avoided if she was completely surprised that she was so close to the board, and he had offered no input as to mechanics. Maybe he is relying TOO much on the Tivo and expecting the divers to make fixes themselves. </p>

<p>So with that new information, I too would be more concerned about what’s going on at the practices. I guess my only advice if it doesn’t improve is to again, first address it directly with him. (“I feel like what best works for me is direct, specific advice re: mechanics. Can we make sure you are able to watch my reverse dives in particular?”) And make sure he is watching. Give the coach a chance to improve his coaching technique. It may well improve. If he isn’t able to get the Tivo fixed, then ask him if they together can go to AD or swim coach to see about it. If he brushes them off, then divers should go on their own. If there is no improvement in his coaching by end of season, she as a senior may well want to address her concerns (certainly she has so many years of experience under her belt she has some clout) directly with swim coach/AD. If nothing else at least it may improve the situation for her peers down the line.</p>

<p>Really surprised that a D1 school is (sounds like) sort of all over the place with respect to the athletic trainers. That is pretty strange.</p>

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<p>and yes, he shouldn’t be missing that many dives (agree a few is normal, but not that many). With only 2 boards, even with 8 divers, he should be able to catch things (esp. dives that are getting closer and closer to the board), and address them. Even when you are instructing one diver on a previous dive, you are watching the next. So yes, she should wait for his nod and if he isn’t doing it, then she (and teammates) may need to learn to slow down the pace to make darn sure he IS watching. Sounds like a pretty inexperienced coach for a D1 school; I’m sort of surprised.</p>