Edge welcomes our newest blogger, Megan Clumpus to the team. Megan, a junior biology/pre-med major, will be contributing to Edge’s sports blog, “Game On.”

Through working in the athletic training room, and being an injured athlete myself, I’ve seen every type of athlete with every type of injury over the past two years: torn ACLs, fractured tibias, concussions, strains, sprains, bruises, and even a branding or two, or three. However, one occasion that will forever remain in my memory is a football player who fractured both bones in his arm at three different locations.

For a big, strong football player, he sure could wince when his trainer tried adjusting his cast. Clearly, if a soft touch could inflict so much pain on someone so strong, playing football was out of the question. After shaking off the pain, he looked up at his trainer, and asked, “So what are we wrapping this with so the referee won’t notice?” Even two broken bones, a cast, and an immense amount of pain couldn’t hold this athlete back from his sport.

Being a nineteen-year-old student athlete, there’s no question I’ve been faced with hardships, drama and turmoil. However, sitting on the side of the lacrosse field for the past year and a half has proved to be the most difficult thing I have faced. Frustration, depression and anger all rise within an athlete upon injury; after all, there is no greater love than the love for your sport. When an athlete is told to sit out, you don’t just take away their chance to play, but also their routine, their stress relief and the best part of their day. This physically and emotionally demanding time period has proved to be more than exhausting for the past one hundred and eighty three days. However, knowing I will step back on that field one day is more than enough motivation to grit my teeth through the gruelling physical therapy and sit on the turf through the biweekly Erie monsoons.

Just like a chef belongs in the kitchen and a teacher belongs in the classroom, swimmers belong in the pool and baseball players belong on the diamond. Our sport serves as more than a means to help reduce our student debt, it shapes and defines who we are as a person. Needless to say, being taken away from where we belong can cause much emotional turmoil and distress, similar to separation anxiety. And therefore it comes without question that an athlete will do anything to return to their sport, including lying about their killer headaches, covering up their painful limp and shaking off their crutches as soon as possible. Watching the football player in the athletic training room that day, struggling to pull his long sleeve shirt over his cast, proved that he would go to any extreme just to play a few more minutes. He didn’t conceal his cast to impress the fans, make his parents long road-trip worthwhile, or to please his coaches, but truly out of his love for the game.

Some might define love as an intense feeling of affection, or strong personal attachment; however, I can define love in two simple words: playing lacrosse.

– Megan

You can check out the Gannon Sports page for more information on what GU has to offer the athlete.