athlete supportConfidenceCopinginjury recoveryMindset
Sports injuries affect more than your body
If you are one of the many young women for whom sport is so much more than a game, you know how hard it hits when you are sidelined.
Sport is where you:
- feel confident
- have your closest friendships
- shake off stress
- challenge yourself
- introduce yourself to the world
When an injury suddenly takes that away, it can feel like losing a piece of yourself.
You see teammates practicing without you and your schedule looks so dull compared to what you’re used to. It’s easy to find yourself wondering if you’ll ever feel like yourself again.
Injury recovery isn’t only about healing muscles, ligaments, or bones. It’s about caring for the part of you that’s grieving the life you expected to be living. Every day can begin to revolve around what you can’t do, whether it’s train, compete, or contribute how you used to. Over time, if that story is rooted entirely in loss, it can become the only thing you see.
But what if your injury was just one chapter in your book? What else would be true?
Tell Yourself a Bigger Story
Broaden your story to see this recovery as an experience that’s shown you how determined you are. Or perhaps learning about how courageous you are by attending practice even when you couldn’t participate. You might even be discovering patience you never knew you had.
The way you tell your story matters because it’s the story you’ll carry long after your injury has healed.
Lean Into the Support Around You
Recovery can feel incredibly lonely. People often ask how your body is doing but forget to ask how you are doing.
The right support reminds you that you matter. Whether it’s family, trusted friends, teammates, coaches, a therapist, or another athlete who’s walked this road before, healing becomes lighter when you don’t carry it alone.
This can also be a chance to reconnect with yourself outside of performance.
Who are you beyond the game?
What fills your heart?
These aren’t always easy questions to think about, but they often lead to the most meaningful answers.
Be on Your Own Team
Talk to yourself the way you would talk to your best friend. Remind them that healing takes time, setbacks happen, and they are still worthy of kindness.
You deserve that same relationship with yourself.
And by doing this, even if it’s just 1% more, it creates emotional safety for your nervous system to heal, adapt, and grow.
A Lesson in Ankles
Years ago, I twisted my ankle while playing softball.
Things I had never given a second thought to, like walking from my bedroom to the kitchen, were incredibly painful. Playing sports wasn’t even an option.
It was difficult to imagine feeling normal again at some moments, and I consider myself a pretty optimistic person.
Fortunately, I had something working in my favour. I’d experienced my body’s ability to heal before. I was able to picture myself walking again. Running again. Playing again.
I committed to stretching when I could, massaged my ankle, and thanked my body for what it was doing, even when progress felt slow. (Yes, I really did talk kindly to my ankle!)
It was also helpful to have people checking in on me who genuinely cared.
Looking back, I think my body was healing, and I chose to let my mind become part of that healing process too. If you’re in the middle of recovery, I know it may not feel this way today. But one day, your body will likely tell a story of healing and your heart, a story of courage.
Sport may be one of the greatest parts of who you are.
It just isn’t all of who you are.
And sometimes, the things that feel like they’ve taken everything from us just might introduce us to strengths we didn’t know we possessed.
Let’s Keep Walking Together
If this message resonated with you, you’re already part of the community.
I appreciate you!
I’d love to invite you into our email community, a caring online space where we share 2–3 thoughtful notes each week with resources, tools, and real-life encouragement for raising (and being) resilient teen girls.
No pressure. No perfection. Just support, insight, and a lot of “oh wow, that makes sense.”
Let’s walk this path together with presence, courage, and a little more ease.
Join here and receive your free download:
No More Walking on Eggshells: A Guide to Courageous Conversations with Your Teen
With gratitude,
Chantal
