The Sports Doc
Watch for kids hiding injuries
More resources
Read Dr. Stankovich's new book, Sports Success 360! The book gives coaches, parents and student athletes life strategies for performance and character development.
- Using sports for confidence development(January 2010)
- Reader questions for the Sports Doc (December 2009)
- How sports can help kids with disabilities (November 2009)
- When should kids start working out? (October 2009)
- Multiple kids, multiple sports (September 2009)
- How to get kids to try sports (August 2009)
- The do's and don'ts of summer sports (July 2009)
- Failed school levies and athletics (June 2009)
- What is sport sampling? (May 2009)
- How to talk sports with kids (April 2009)
- Your child's team is not a babysitter (March 2009)
- Dealing with pressure (February 2009)
- Does your child have sports burnout? (January 2009)
- Help your child overcome 'choking' (December 2008)
- Help your child see challenges instead of fear (November 2008)
- You've got questions the Sports Doc has answers (October 2008)
- Interview with former gymnast Dayna Goen (September 2008)
- The psychology of injury recovery (August 08)
- Getting into the zone (July 08)
- Embracing the process of youth sports (June 08)
- Help your child handle cuts (May 08)
- Student athletes can positively affect non-athletes (April 08)
- Developing a personal portfolio (March 08)
- Athletes and risk-taking behaviors (February 08)
- Parents' unfulfilled dreams sometimes forced on child (January 08)
- 2007 Sports Doc archive
Dr. Chris Stankovich offers individual athletic counseling and team/league seminars. Read Dr. Stankovich's new book, Sports Success 360. The book gives coaches, parents and student athletes life strategies for performance and character development. Visit drstankovich.com for more details.
Fortunately, most kids are pretty candid about needing time off from sports because of injury or illness, but some try to hide ailments from coaches and parents so they can continue to play. Playing when sick can exacerbate illnesses, leaving kids even more at risk for future problems.
So why would a child want to hide an injury or illness?
- He may fear looking weak to the rest of the team by not being able to "suck it up" and continue playing.
- She may feel that if she takes time off, she might lose her starting position.
- He may feel that the injury or illness is not that bad and doesn't tell anyone.
- She might fear losing the connection to friends on the team if put on the injured list.
- He may think he will lose opportunities for college coaches to see him in action, thus squandering opportunities to someday play at the college level.
Kids hide injuries and illnesses for many reasons, and while in some cases it's nothing to worry about, not treating more serious ailments, like a torn ACL or H1N1 flu, can turn tragic.
It is important that you keep a close eye on your child if you feel something isn't right, and ask questions if you have any suspicions. As an adult, you know that the reasons kids may not tell you or a coach about an injury or illness are sometimes irrational, but for kids, their fears are very real.
Be sure to keep an open dialog, pay attention to unusual behavior, and ask questions if you feel your child may be hiding her pain and discomfort to keep playing her sport.
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