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One of the biggest struggles a college athlete can face is getting injured during the season. It's hard both mentally and physically on the athlete since they can't participate in the sport they love. This article features the perspective of Melissa Taggert who dealt with injuries for the entire 2022 season.

Melissa is a junior at Fairfield University where she plays defense on the women's lacrosse team. Despite her injuries she is still being positive and doing everything she can to get healthy enough to play.

Can you tell us what your injury is and how it happened?

Right now I'm out because I have two torn ligaments in my ankle and they're just the lateral ones. It's from rolling your ankle a ton of times so I'm in a boot now.

Related: Arielle Sanders: Having an Injury as a College Athlete

How are you staying motivated while you're injured?

I was injured in the fall also so I was out for almost the whole fall. So I think it's tougher now to motivate myself from being out in the fall and also out now again at the beginning of our season. So I think honestly a lot of teammates are my roommates so hanging out with them a lot and living their experiences has helped. Just being there for people whenever they need it and being there for the girls that are being injured now that might've never been on the injury list before. Being there for them has helped me in general.

How are you staying mentally and physically fit while injured?

I go to the training room a lot and honestly that trainers are like counselors at this point. You can go in there and vent however you're feeling for the day. So I'm in the training room a lot during the day and then I go to PT also.

What parts of your play/academics/health have you been able to focus more on while taking the time away from practice due to the injury?

Yeah, I'd say I can spend a little bit more time on my work, but I'm still absorbed in all of the practice times and every film session. I'm pretty much still involved just as much but I'm able to focus a tad bit more on my school work. I'm still with the team all the time.

Related: How to Make Your Time More Valuable as an Athlete

Is it hard to feel like you're still part of the team from the sidelines and how do you stay involved at practices and games?

Yeah definitely. Like I said my teammates are my roommates so it's myself and one other girl that are injured but the other four are still playing totally fine. I definitely think it's hard after games when they come back and talk about “that play” and “someone did this and that” since it's hard to hear since I wasn't on the field with them or I didn't hear what was going on in the huddle. My teammates and coaching staff are all really supportive so they try to make a family unit as much as possible and I definitely feel like I'm still a part of the family.

Do you have any advice for college athletes or recruits who are dealing with injuries that force them to miss games?

I would look at the bright side of what's going on. Focus on your team as a whole and hope that they keep going and keep winning. Also focus on yourself and make sure you're doing mentally and physically okay and that you're going to every treatment and making sure you're taking advantage of every opportunity to get better and feel better. I think that's really important.

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* Originally published on May 26, 2022, by Grant Osborne