MANY PEOPLE think of sports as fun competition, but playing a sport isn’t always fun and games. One day, a player could be at the top of the game, then on the nextday, that same player may be on the sidelines hurt and told to sit out the rest of the season. Sophia Than (10) plays basketball and has played for two years for the Granger basketball team. “I was playing basketball at the West Valley Rec Center. I did a lay-up, and I landed on my ankle,” Than said. After her injury, she was not able to play for the school. During the four months she spent in recovery, she went to physical therapy. “Obviously, with a healed ankle, I can’t really do anything. I couldn’t run and jump on my healed ankle because I didn’t want to break and go through the whole healing process again.” Another Lancer athlete who has found herself on the sideline before is Dori Buenrostro (10), who plays soccer and has been for four years. “While I was playing soccer, I ran into someone and fell down and blacked out. I don’t remember anything but when I woke up, I was told that I had a broken nose and a concussion,” Buenrostro said. She couldn’t play for the rest of the season due to her injuries. Buenrostro is still recovering from the broken nose and concussion, but still enjoys playing soccer. Bobby Lizardi (12) has been playing football for four years now for Granger High School. He started playing in his freshman year, and just finished his senior season watching from the sidelines. “I was playing football and I was at running back while running with the ball and I got tackled from the back awkwardly to the point where my leg bent weirdly and snapped in half,” Lizardi said. Unfortunately, Lizardi couldn’t play for the rest of the season and just watched from the sideline supporting his teammates. “I was out for the whole season after I got hurt because it needed six to nine months to heal. I can walk on it pretty well. It still hurts when I put a lot of pressure on my leg, but I can walk normally fine,” Lizardi said. He is still recovering from the injuries and is now back to walking normally. While enjoyable, sports can be scary, because players never know when an injury could happen and how long they’d have to be sidelined. Getting hurt and not being able to play a favorite sport can be painful both physically and emotionally. Watching the team play from the sidelines can be heartbreaking. Additionally, one injured athlete can affect the performance of the whole team, which can be a lot for someone to feel the weight of while in recovery. Injuries can happen fast and unexpectedly, and that is why it is important for athletes to listen to coaches and athletic trainers when they advise players on how to best keep themselves safe and healthy while also doing what they love.