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2016Southpaw has decided to go the JUCO route and has received interest from 4 schools in state. However, no definite offers as of yet....

2016Southpaw had his first scrimmage of the year on Saturday. With him being a Senior, the team captain and #1 in the rotation,  he gets the nod to start on the bump

First inning 18 pitches 2Ks.

Second inning 23 pitches 2K's a BB and a hit

3rd inning base hit, K, and passed ball.....THEN

-runner on 3rd heads home, 2016Southpaw runs to cover home, gets the ball late to get the runner out on the tag. In the process of avoiding collision, he gets airborne, his left spike gets caught in runners helmet and when his right foot lands, his ankle goes towards RF and his knee goes towards LF......

Writhing on the ground he lets out a loud excruciating growl.... We now know that this IS NOT GOOD. He gets carried to the dugout from numerous coaches and the school trainer checks him out and makes the evaluation that the ACL is good, but MCL is damaged. We inform trainer that we are taking him to the ER for precaution. He states that he has evaluated him and he is fine and will ice him up and add a knee immobilizer; that by going to ER we will be waste of our time...

We decide to take him to ER to get checked out. X-rays are negative for structural damage. The ER advises us to visit the walk in clinic at the Orthopedics Center on Monday morning.

Monday morning at start of business, we are at the orthopedic clinic and low and behold they have an open appointment at 830. We see the Dr., he checks out 2016Southpaw and gives him the most horrible news....The ACL is at torn at the least.

As we all received the news; Mom, myself and 2016SouthPaw are in tears. Doctor orders an MRI at 1 PM and schedules an appointment to get results of MRI yesterday at 430.

MRI confirmed a ruptured ACL and a tear in the PCL. Meniscus is good.

2016Southpaw has another appointment tomorrow to discuss the timetable for the surgery.

Not sure what/where/or how to deal with the recruiting process now...

I hope I have not seen 2016SouthPaw's last game on the ball field

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The good news is that ACL reconstruction is, today, NOTHING like it was 25 or 30 years ago when I had mine (3 in 4 years). As mentioned above, he had already decided on the JC route, so returning to that path is not all that difficult and he could easily be ready to go by next season. Good luck. I doubt seriously that you've seen his last appearance on the mound.

That's a tough situation for your son, and I hope he has a speedy recovery.   Looking ahead, and depending upon the length of his recovery, you may want to think about having him start classes at a JC as a part-time student this Fall so that he doesn't start his eligibility "clock" (which begins with any full-time college enrollment and attendance in classes).   If you have questions about that approach, let me know.  Good luck to your son.

I too am so sorry to hear this news.  It makes my gut churn as I feel for your son's situation.  As much as I don't like hearing such stories, I'm glad you posted it and have high hopes that all will go forward well for your son.  And I'm hoping that we'll hear a great follow up story of your son's recovery and continued success on the baseball field.

I'm sorry to hear this...

08Son also tore his ACL at the beginning of his Senior year. Missing his senior year was horrible - but I can tell you the good side of this story which is that he went on to pitch in College and ended up as a number one starter. He did do as Rick suggests above - went part time for the Fall and when the coach suggested red shirting his first spring, went part time in the spring as well - so his clock didn't start until his sophomore year. 

Best of luck to your son as he goes through the surgery and the next few months.

Last edited by 08Dad

SPD,

Hang in there.  Hopefully your son will recover well.  While the timing stinks, sometimes good things come out of what seem like the worst possible situations.

BTW, We partner with Rick at Informed Athlete.  The reason we partner with him is because he is the best in that field.  He has the experience and credentials to back that up.  I would strongly recommend that anyone with questions regarding NCAA recruiting, compliance, and eligibility to reach out to him.

Southpawdad,

I am so sorry to hear about your son's situation.  It is a really tough break to have an injury senior year.  Rick at Informed Athlete gave you excellent advise!  Taking classes part time so that the athletic clock will not begin yet is a great idea.  The mistake that our son made was signing at a college because  he was offered a spot while injured, and worried that this may be his only chance to play college baseball.  This school was not a good fit academically and it did not work out athletically either.  Our son lost a year of eligibility that way, and is now at a high academic military institute where he probably should have gone right after HS (the coach had shown interest in him when he began recovering from his injury). He is fully recovered and having a great time playing baseball with an amazing coach and team. I am sharing this because I know how devastating an injury senior year is, and I hope that you can avoid making the same mistake that we made.

I've been there on this one. My son tore his MCL and PCL the first weekend of summer post junior year. He spent four months on crutches. Then in October he fell doing rehab agility drills. He separated his shoulder requiring surgery. The doctor told him he wouldn't be allowed to start throwing until May. He wasn't thrilled he was missing senior year of soccer. But now it was senior year of baseball and avenues of getting exposure for college.

i was on the mythical ledge. The people on this site kept me from jumping. What's left is faith, whatever that means to you and your son. 

My son told the ortho he was going to be ready to play senior year. He pointed at the doctor and said, "You're going to help." Damn, if my son wasn't in the opening day lineup. He had to DH for a couple of weeks. But he was playing. He spent three weeks playing left. Every team knew he had throwing issues due to his arm. He shocked a team by throwing a runner out by thirty feet. He came to the dugout, looked at the coach and said, "Next game, back in center."

His plan became to delay entering college and do fall showcases. Get noticed and start college in January even if it meant no roster spot until the following year.

Never lose contact with important coaches with contacts. My son's hitting coach was also his travel coach. He was a former D1 coach and a current pro scout. At the end of August the coach told my son there's no need to wait anymore. He made some calls. My son was off to college three days before classes started.

While my son was recovering from his knee injuries he did upper body training. When he was recovering from his shoulder injury he did lower body training. He was focused on not letting injuries stop him.

Stay focused. Get past "This sucks." It falls under the cateogory of things you can't control. Your son can control his attitude and faith he will return. When he's healthy it will all work out.

As Randy Pausch once said. "The walls weren't put there to keep us out. They are there to see how badly we want in."

if you want to see the right attitude about stuff happening, watch this ...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn9L4CxAaQY

An injury won't seem like such a big deal to cope with.

 

Last edited by RJM

So sorry for sons injury. Wishing u the best.

I would make sure u give trainer piece of your mind. He was wrong in his opinion and to tell a parent going to an ER is waste of time shows he/she doesn't know what they are talking about. Would not have changed your sons outcome, but he would have spent time in more pain until a dr. Checked him out. 

Southpawdad, I assure you I can sympathize with you. I do feel bad for your son and your family, especially with the timing. A speedy and full recovery will hopefully happen and your son can put this behind him. Tell him to stay positive, though I can promise you that is not what he wants to hear right now. He will be better after a few days and reality sets in. Your son will be in my prayers. 

playball2011 posted:

So sorry for sons injury. Wishing u the best.

I would make sure u give trainer piece of your mind. He was wrong in his opinion and to tell a parent going to an ER is waste of time shows he/she doesn't know what they are talking about. Would not have changed your sons outcome, but he would have spent time in more pain until a dr. Checked him out. 

I disagree wholeheartedly. Rarely do I send a kid to the ER. Athletic Trainers are highly skilled healthcare providers, trained in musculoskeletal injuries. 

Bulldog 19 posted:
playball2011 posted:

So sorry for sons injury. Wishing u the best.

I would make sure u give trainer piece of your mind. He was wrong in his opinion and to tell a parent going to an ER is waste of time shows he/she doesn't know what they are talking about. Would not have changed your sons outcome, but he would have spent time in more pain until a dr. Checked him out. 

I disagree wholeheartedly. Rarely do I send a kid to the ER. Athletic Trainers are highly skilled healthcare providers, trained in musculoskeletal injuries. 

Only this one didn't know what he was talking about. Family was right to ignore him.

Best wishes to your boy and your family, Southpawdad. I'm thinking if he wants to play again, he'll get to play again.  That's how it's gotta be.

smokeminside posted:
Bulldog 19 posted:
playball2011 posted:

So sorry for sons injury. Wishing u the best.

I would make sure u give trainer piece of your mind. He was wrong in his opinion and to tell a parent going to an ER is waste of time shows he/she doesn't know what they are talking about. Would not have changed your sons outcome, but he would have spent time in more pain until a dr. Checked him out. 

I disagree wholeheartedly. Rarely do I send a kid to the ER. Athletic Trainers are highly skilled healthcare providers, trained in musculoskeletal injuries. 

Only this one didn't know what he was talking about. Family was right to ignore him.

Best wishes to your boy and your family, Southpawdad. I'm thinking if he wants to play again, he'll get to play again.  That's how it's gotta be.

The way I read it, the trainer did tell the player he was injured and offered ice and knee stabilizer but no where in the OP'S statement did he suggest he didn't need to see a doctor  just that the ER was a waste of time as he would definitely  need to see a specialist either way as he did for the mri. Emergency rooms are expensive and full of sick people and I would avoid any trip to the ER unless it was a life and death matter.

That is terrible news.  My thoughts and prayers are sent to the young man.

He'll have a full recovery and modern medical science is indeed a miracle.  Now is the time to count your blessings.  Your son is alive and he will do well in the future regardless of baseball.  As painful as it is to have this happen, there are parents out there who would trade places in a heartbeat if they could somehow get their loved ones back.

TPM posted:
smokeminside posted:
Bulldog 19 posted:
playball2011 posted:

So sorry for sons injury. Wishing u the best.

I would make sure u give trainer piece of your mind. He was wrong in his opinion and to tell a parent going to an ER is waste of time shows he/she doesn't know what they are talking about. Would not have changed your sons outcome, but he would have spent time in more pain until a dr. Checked him out. 

I disagree wholeheartedly. Rarely do I send a kid to the ER. Athletic Trainers are highly skilled healthcare providers, trained in musculoskeletal injuries. 

Only this one didn't know what he was talking about. Family was right to ignore him.

Best wishes to your boy and your family, Southpawdad. I'm thinking if he wants to play again, he'll get to play again.  That's how it's gotta be.

The way I read it, the trainer did tell the player he was injured and offered ice and knee stabilizer but no where in the OP'S statement did he suggest he didn't need to see a doctor  just that the ER was a waste of time as he would definitely  need to see a specialist either way as he did for the mri. Emergency rooms are expensive and full of sick people and I would avoid any trip to the ER unless it was a life and death matter.

point taken.

Player was in pain and needed to be seen IMO by someone other than HS trainer-yes they have degree I know all about trainers. He said ACL was fine-no way to know that there on field-and he was wrong. Any parent who sees child in pain like this player would want to take them to ER. To tell them it's a waste of time is his opinion, and glad this dad went. They checked him out and referred him to dr who found injury.
Sorry, left out last thought. OP stated trainer said he's fine after he looked at him, said ice, brace was needed. No where did it say he told dad to have him checked by dr. In office visit. Sorry to harp on this, but I stand by my opinion that parents should listen to there gut when their child's health is in ?. Hope this P is able to play at some college level after rehab, we all wish him the best.

Update on 2016S-Paw

First off, I would like to personally thank each and every member of this forum who either responded, replied or sent private messages regarding my son's situation. I cannot say how grateful I am to be surrounded by so much support and guidance. It was well received by our entire family

Surgery was scheduled for last Friday, March 11. Post-op, doctor came out and showed us photos before and after of the inside of his knee- WOW what a mess...

Surgery was successful as both outside of the knee tendons were re-attached and a new ACL was installed from the patellar tendon all was completed at one time. What a relief that was, as I don't think the kid would have liked a return visit.

He started PT this morning at 0830 and I am anxiously awaiting a phone call to see how he did.

 

Thanks again

 

 

2016SouthPawDad posted:

Update on 2016S-Paw

First off, I would like to personally thank each and every member of this forum who either responded, replied or sent private messages regarding my son's situation. I cannot say how grateful I am to be surrounded by so much support and guidance. It was well received by our entire family

Surgery was scheduled for last Friday, March 11. Post-op, doctor came out and showed us photos before and after of the inside of his knee- WOW what a mess...

Surgery was successful as both outside of the knee tendons were re-attached and a new ACL was installed from the patellar tendon all was completed at one time. What a relief that was, as I don't think the kid would have liked a return visit.

He started PT this morning at 0830 and I am anxiously awaiting a phone call to see how he did.

 

Thanks again

 

 

Remind him that the "easy part" is now done. Surgery is the easiest part for him...he's asleep! Now comes the hard work. Little steps every day are better than giant steps occasionally. Good luck!

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