Football is a physical sport, and with physicality comes injuries. For student-athletes, injuries can have a significant impact on players, forcing them to step away from their day-to-day schedule and disrupting their life as a student.

Sports are often a pillar of an athlete’s personality, so injuries can often take a toll on more than just an athlete’s physical health. One example is Nicolas “Nico” Preciado ’26, who tore his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and meniscus.

“The timing of the injury really sucks due to the fact I have to miss my senior season of football and only get the end of the season of rugby, which just feels horrible, because since I joined the team as a freshman I’ve been wanting to be varsity starter in football,” said Nico. “This was finally the year to fulfill my goal.”

Running back Brody Quinn ’27 suffered a sprained Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) and more recently a strained hamstring during the Bellarmine game during week 3. Brody noticed that his injury not only prevented him from being with his brothers on the field, but also affected him in the classroom.

“My injury impacted my student life [as] everyday I would have to sit out and watch the boys in football flex practice without me,” Brody said. “I felt like I was letting the team down. All the soreness and overthinking that [came with the injury] distracted me from learning.”

Nico highlighted how the mental impact of injuries impacts athletes on and off the field as they have to deal with the pressure of staying on top of their academics, while overcoming the mental weight of their injury taking their passion from them.

“It was very hard to deal with the fact that something I had been working towards for so long had been taken in an instant,” Nico said. “After I had surgery, I couldn’t come back to school for a month, and it really hurt my grades […] I had to self teach myself all the material, and try to remake loads of quizzes and tests before the end of the year.”

A common middle ground that allows athletes to stay involved with their sports without further injuring themselves is becoming a team manager. Corey Beebe ’26 suffered a displaced break in his left clavicle while mountain biking, but stays a part of the team by taking on the responsibilities of football team manager.

“I help the team by preparing for game day, by helping to set up, and help teammates on the sidelines,” Corey said.

Managing is an opportunity to stay a part of the team and contribute in a way that still helps, and while it may not be how Nico hoped his season would go, he says that the brotherhood of the team still feels as strong as ever despite changing his role.

“At first I thought being a manager would be a lot of work, which it is, but the guys I have surrounding me in the equipment room make the days fly by and are a lot of unexpected fun,” Nico said. “Coming back as a manager will never feel the same as playing on Friday nights but, it’s my way of staying close to the team and helping from the sideline.” 

Brody Quinn has fortunately recovered, but he says that it will change how he goes about practice and injury prevention drastically so that he can return after his injuries both mentally and physically stronger.

“My injury has made a huge impact on my future by taking stretching and weight lifting much more seriously,” Brody said. “The things I hated [doing in the gym] are [now] the things I love, and [they prevent] the injuries that occurred before I did them.”