The long road back to health

Willis McGahee in the Fiesta Bowl. Carson Palmer against the Steelers. Lawrence Taylor and Joe Theisman. These are the images that stay with us, that make us cringe and grab at our knees, that remind us why not everyone has the heart to be a professional athlete. But just as championships aren't won on the field but in practice on hot summer afternoons and cold winter mornings, so too do most injuries come while the world is not watching.

No athlete knows this better than junior outfielder Micah Kaplan.

Fewer than two months into his freshman varsity baseball season, Kaplan tore two ligaments in his wrist on a routine check swing. He forfeited his entire fall break and almost two months of practice recovering from subsequent surgery.

"It was frustrating" Kaplan said. "I was already guaranteed a spot on the roster but not playing time. I was just lucky that it happened in the fall and that I didn't miss too many games."

Kaplan was fortunate not only that it happened so early in the season but also that it happened while he was at Princeton — and not at another school. The University maintains an impressive arsenal of trainers, orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists at the athletic department's expense. Kaplan's surgery was performed at the Princeton Medical Center and team physicians closely monitored his rehab progress.

More importantly, though, Kaplan didn't have to worry about what many NCAA athletes facing injury do — the loss of an athletic scholarship, which is not given out in the Ivy League. The NCAA does not require universities to continue providing tuition for athletes who are physically unable to perform, and many simply don't.

That said, Kaplan faced the same challenges any athlete recovering from surgery does. In interviews, Joe Theisman always emphasized that the worst part of his career-ending injury wasn't the hit itself but the painful recovery that followed. As Theisman pointed out, the body is a "magnificent machine" able to produce absurd amounts of endorphins to mask pain for short periods of time. Nothing, however, can mask the frustration of repetitive rehab exercises.

Kaplan went from infield fielding drills, batting practices and suicides to the thrill of squeezing small rubber balls endlessly.

"It wasn't depressing, but it was frustrating." Kaplan said. "I tried to keep myself positive. I didn't feel like I had let anybody down — these things happen. But that doesn't make it any easier."

Kaplan's reaction to the situation was surprisingly upbeat. Most athletes faced with similar frustration experience emotions ranging from guilt to boredom. An athlete in training produces excessive quantities of endorphins naturally, producing the so-called "runner's high."

The inability to practice and the resulting chemical imbalances leave many former athletes lethargic and dejected. Additionally, healthy athletes in training consume a tremendous amount of calories simply to maintain body weight. The loss of this exercise requires an incredible amount of discipline to keep a healthy diet and not gain weight. Injuries on the field extend to all aspects of life off the field as well and tax the patience of even the most determined athletes.

After three weeks in a cast and an additional three weeks in physical therapy, Kaplan rejoined the team. His swing has returned to its original form and he hopes to contribute this year at first base and left field.

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Many athletes, including several other members of the baseball team, however, have not been so lucky. Two of Kaplan's fellow freshmen recruits that year were injured as well, resulting in a remarkable 50 percent casualty rate among freshmen Princeton varsity baseball recruits. Pitcher Evan Alexander was forced to undergo Tommy John Surgery, a procedure performed on the elbow that requires upwards of a year to recover. Pitcher Stephen Richter suffered a torn Labrumone of the most painful injuries in the sport. Both of these cases, however, pale in comparison to senior catcher Ian Shannon, who has missed significant playing time every season he has been at Princeton because of major knee injuries.

Almost all players on the Princeton varsity baseball roster have had to face some kind of injury at some point — as have athletes in every other sport. Be they repetitive motion injuries in cross country, blown knees in soccer or the king of them all, the Tayloresque mauling in football, all sport injuries have something in common. The pain of the moment is temporary but the recovery is not. So tip your hat to the men on the sidelines and pour some liquor on the curb for those not in the game. They've earned it.