Personal Narrative: My Return To The Baseball Field

My recurrent shoulder dislocations were a constant battle, but a battle in which I’d always won. After a dislocation, all it took was a couple weeks of physical therapy before I could return to the baseball field. Although, after my fifth dislocation I ended up sitting in the hospital awaiting the results of my MRI with an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. My surgeon soon returned with news that my injury required a season-ending surgery. Thus, I had a Bankart Repair on my throwing shoulder, and afterwards, although devastated, I supported my teammates from the sidelines for the entirety of the season. Then came the offseason, and the so-called "optional" workouts in which I’d attended religiously in the past. Being the varsity team captain, it took little thought for me to decide I would attend the workouts regardless of my inability …show more content…
At first, I was unsure as to how I would contribute at the workouts with my arm in a sling. But with the help of my surgeon and physical therapist, I developed a training program that targets arm injury prevention in baseball players, and I now demonstrate this program directly to my teammates once to twice a week at the workouts. My injury continues to frustrate me, but I channel this frustration into ensuring that the underclassmen won’t suffer the same type of injury that I did. This type of leadership has brought to me a great sense of fulfillment, but I’ve also taken away a unique lesson. Though the age difference isn’t drastic, the freshmen have much more cheerful, untroubled thoughts than my twelfth grade peers. Seeing my younger teammates show so much optimism toward their lives has been a great reminder of all there is to be happy about. At the beginning, having my surgery felt like the end of the world. But now, considering the experience as a whole, it is clear to me how much I’ve grown from it both as a person and a