The Misery of an Injury: Redwood Athletes Share Experiences with Injuries

Redwood athletes talk about their experiences with injuries and heartbreak.

By: Fabian Anguiano

I’m sure everyone who clicks on this story knows at least a little about sports, the championships, and heartbreak. Those can really make or break an athlete, but what about a physical heartbreak? Imagine you are doing great in your sport, and one day during practice, or in a playoff, you get injured, all that hard work, all those workouts, all that grinding, just for it to possibly be taken away in a single second. These athletes had similar experiences.

Varsity basketball player Mark Alisna, ’25, shares his initial reaction when he tore his ACL during a preseason scrimmage at Mt. Whitney.

“My instant reaction was just a feeling of intense pain, as I wasn’t able to move my leg at all.”

Alisna expressed that, “the first thing that came to my mind was that I thought I had broken something, as I heard a pop as I landed after I jumped. The athletic trainer at Mt. Whitney told me I was fine at first, so I didn’t think much of it at the time.”

Alisna shared his teammates and his coaches’ concerns.

“My coaches were definitely concerned, however, I think my teammates’ reactions were that they thought I had a cramp because I would always get cramps during practice. However, they clearly knew it was something worse, as I had to get carried by my coaches to the bench.”

Alisna then proceeded to share the feeling of watching his teammates compete while on the sidelines.

“Watching my teammates compete was definitely a struggle, as I wanted to compete with them, especially since it was my last year. Showing up to the practices and games made me feel like I didn’t belong sometimes.”

“Overall, I think this injury taught me many lessons, and despite being out, I still had fun watching my teammates play and learn,” says Alisna.

Matthew Guillen, ’28, shared his instant reaction to his injury and what his injury was.

“My injury was a fractured ankle, and at first I thought it was just a sprain because it was at baseball practice and I was like, ‘oh I would be back in no time.”

“The first thing that came to my mind was probably being out for the season, and being bummed out,” says Guillen.

Guillen shared what his teammates and his coaches’ reactions were.

“They were like ‘oh that sucks’ and stuff, since I won’t be able to play this season.”

Guillen gave his feelings about how it felt to watch his teammates compete while on the sidelines. “It sucked, because I felt like I let my team down by being injured and not being able to help them out there.”

Former Varsity Girls swimmer and water polo player Camila Jimenez-Castro, ’26, shared her initial reaction to her injury.

“I was honestly pretty upset, because obviously not being able to play a sport because something is hurting, and not having the motivation to do it anymore is pretty upsetting. So I feel like whenever my back first started hurting, I didn’t really think anything of it, then it kind of just continued. It started last year during my sophomore year, and the more that I continued to swim I realized that it was not during the swimming laps, but it was after I got out of the pool that I would be in like inconsistent lower back pain. So obviously not being able to have motivation to do a sport because of it, is upsetting.”

How did her coaches and teammates react?

“My coach was super understanding. She obviously felt bad, and it’s definitely not fun, but again, she was super understanding … Teammates, again super supportive, and you know nobody wants to be pushing to the limit where your hurting, so again everybody was just super supportive and understanding.”

How did it feel watching her teammates succeed?

Jimenez-Castro says, “It’s obviously mixed feelings. I felt like people personally I love watching others succeed and do their best, but at the same time it’s like when you get to a point where you can’t really continue to improve, you feel like everybody is peaking, and you’re not, is obviously not a great feeling.”

“It’s again un-motivating, which I feel like played a big factor in my decision to not play the sport anymore. I feel like I definitely wanted to push through and stuff, but at the same time when you’re in a lot of pain it’s definitely not fun. So I feel like in general I was really happy for my teammates, [but] at the same time it’s defeating,” says Jimenez-Castro.

“The experience has definitely not been fun and not ideal, because I’ve played water polo and swim for the last three years, and like kind of taking the decision to not play my senior year was really upsetting, but I also feel like it’s a big learning lesson in getting an opportunity to dedicate my time to other things has been pretty cool. So kind of just seeing the positive outcome of this situation,” says Jimenez-Castro.

Varsity volleyball, softball, and soccer player Alexis Rico, ’25, shared what her injury was and her instant reaction to it.

“I have everything in my shoulder torn, so a level 10 tear all away around. I was very sad at first, it takes a toll on your mental health, and how you view yourself, but it was hard at first but overall I got over it.”

What was the first thing that came to her mind when the injury took place?: “That I wouldn’t be able to play softball, and it kind of sucks because all this summer I was trying to get recruited for college and then this happened and so it was hard about college,” says Rico.

What were the reactions of her teammates and her coaches? “They were really sad, but they’re really supportive because they know how hard I’m trying to play through it, so they’re really just supportive and they want to be there for me for everything I need.”

How did Rico feel watching her teammates compete?

“It was really hard, because I just wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to help, but I just sat back supported them and helped them with whatever I possibly could without physically doing it.”

Rico had more to say. “Honestly, injuries suck, but you just have to have strong mental health and you can get through it.”

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