Mar 22, 2018Get Back for the Games
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, I was the athletic trainer for the U.S. National Women’s Ice Hockey Team and got to work with them for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games. It was during this time that I had one of my most memorable rehabs with an athlete.
She played defense for the national team. The year before the Olympics, she tore her ACL. The athlete had patella tendon reconstruction for the tear. Early in her rehab, she struggled with tendonitis and could not make any headway. At the time, the team was in residence in Lake Placid, N.Y. The athletic trainers at the Olympic Training Center were overworked, so the athlete did not get the attention she needed to overcome her problem with rehabilitation.
My involvement with the team that year included attending the Four Nations Cup in November, a Christmas tournament, and worlds in April. After April, the team was free to go home and had to return in August. The coach of the team asked if he could send the injured defender to me at Boston University — I was the Director of Sports Medicine there at the time.
The coach asked me if I could have the athlete ready for November. I swallowed hard and said yes. Then, he had to face the press and answer why he kept an injured athlete over a healthy one. He said he trusted she would be ready to skate and compete by November.
The athlete came to Boston, and we worked slowly all summer. I worked closely with her and had her do pool workouts, massage, and really light strength training. If she had any pain, we backed off. Over time, she advanced to lunges, step-ups, bodyweight squats and mini band work. She gradually progressed and started to believe in my skill as an athletic trainer.
In August, we reported to Lake Placed and had tryouts for the team. The first cuts were 30 athletes on the roster. The coach asked me if I could have the athlete ready for November. I swallowed hard and said yes. Then, he had to face the press and answer why he kept an injured athlete over a healthy one. He said he trusted she would be ready to skate and compete by November.
After the cuts, the athlete continued to follow my plan. The team returned to Lake Placid in the middle of September and resumed a playing tour of the U.S. and Canada. All the while, I continued rehabbing the athlete. She began running and was skating by herself in the middle of October. November was not far away, and I was pleased with her progress. Soon after, she began to skate with the team but was not at the level she was used to playing at. This was a struggle for her, and she walked out of a few practices.
However, she persevered and was able to play in the Eastern All-Star Game held at Cornell University that year. During the game, she wanted to settle a score with a college girl on the All-Star team. I didn’t know this and flipped out when she rammed her into the boards. But everyone else knew it meant she was back.
At the Olympics, we went on to win a silver medal. The athlete had a great tour and is now a nurse practitioner in Boston. We are still in touch, and she has not had any issues with her knees.
