I wish you the best and sorry to hear about the injury. I will make sure to keep this advice in mind. I have a tendency to think coaches will do the right thing, but that is naive.
JLC
We cannot always assume it is the "coach." When our son was in MILB, he ran into an issue I have posted about, which is not very different from the very unfortunate problem for RJM's son. Our son's condition was confirmed by a contrast MRI and the team doctor advised him he could play the entire season with risk of causing further damage. Our son was released to play. Unfortunately, when he would try and throw a baseball, there were times his shoulder would literally lock and that combined with pain made it so he could not throw.
He wanted to play through it. He did not want others to take away his position while he sat on the bench. I won't ever forget the 3rd time it happened because we happened to be in Michigan to see him. He made a brilliant back hand stab of a ball down the 3B line. Spun around and tried to make the throw. The ball literally landed at his feet because he could not throw due to the pain and locking.
Went out to dinner that night. He was so discouraged and for the first time talk about retiring. We talked a lot and I suggested he talk with the coaches about the shoulder and problem and see if they could help. This seemed reasonable and he took the approach since he had a great relationship with both coaches. Talked with them next Morning. Both were stunned, fully supportive and agreed to work with him for the balance of the season. The coaches told him they knew nothing about the diagnosis, need for post season surgery, etc. All they were provided was "cleared to play" or not.
I am not saying the "cleared to play or not" applies to the situation with RJM's son and the coaching staff. HIPAA and privacy can be adapted in interesting ways when it comes to college athletes, professional athletes, medical personnel and coaching staffs.
The take away from this thread, in my view, is get the 2nd opinion and the fact that most highly competitive college athletes and above want to to be "cleared" to play. Coaches want their best players to be "cleared" to play.
Team doctors are not always the best in addressing the proper balance on "cleared" to play and especially, as RJM's and our son experienced, in making the judgement it cannot get any worse. Getting a 2nd opinion on anything needing off season surgery is almost gospel for a high level college and above athlete. Being able to manage and maneuver to get that opinion is not as easy as it sounds, sometimes, though.
