Athletic Support: Forced to play on fractured ankle eli.cranor@gmail.com January 23, 2022 Eli Cranor is a former professional quarterback and coach turned award-winning author. Please use the “Contact” page at elicranor.com to send in questions for “Athletic Support.”

Dear Athletic Support: A player on my son’s junior high basketball team rolled his ankle in a game recently. It was right before halftime, but I could tell it was nasty. The boy had to be carried into the locker room by his teammates. Then, when halftime was over, the injured boy was back on the court, hobbling around. The father of the player had to go down and talk to the coach at the start of the third quarter. The boy came out of the game, of course, but it gets worse. The whole family left the game. I heard they had to take the player to the hospital. I heard he fractured his ankle. What sort of coach tries to put a player in the game after an injury like that? I think the coach should have to answer for this. What about you?

— Fractured

Dear Fractured: Here’s a phrase I’ve mentioned before in this column: “In loco parentis.” It’s Latin, and it just means, “In place of the parents.”

That’s the job of the coach. He is supposed to act “in place of the parents” regarding the wellbeing of his players.

I will say, though, that injuries can be tricky.

I fell victim to “toughing it out” at different points throughout my career. As a parent, I still go overboard when it comes to my own kids. My kids are super young, but I want to instill in them a sense of toughness and grit that will hopefully prepare for the real world. If my kids fall, I’m quick to tell them to get back up and walk it off.

Not every parent is like this.

It’s the job of the coach to know the parents well enough to at least have an educated guess on how far to push their children.

If that sounds like a lot; it is.

Coaching isn’t an easy profession. Knowing how to handle injuries is just one of the many possible pitfalls.

If a school has a trainer, then the coach won’t have to make this call at all. I never had a trainer when I was coaching, and that’s the case for most smaller, rural schools.

In the end, this kid fractured his ankle. So, yes, that’s a big deal. Thankfully, his parents were ready and willing to step in.

Regarding consequences for the coach — that’s not my call. It’s not yours, either. If the parents of this child feel strongly enough about the situation, then they should schedule a meeting with the coach to talk it over. If that conversation doesn’t go well, then they should reach out to the proper school administrator.


Previous columns:

• It’s not about winning in seventh grade
• Daughter can’t keep weight-loss resolution
• The Polish Goal Line Tactic
• Is dance a sport?

Athletic Support Columns 2021
Athletic Support Columns 2020


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