With the excitement, intensity, and competition of high school sports, unfortunately occasional injuries happen. At BSM players give their all on the field, but this level of intensity leads to a variety of injuries. Most players deal with a variety of injuries, from everyday nuisances like bruises, scrapes, and sprains to severe injuries like ACL and LCL tears that impact the players’ lives on as well as off the field.

Sean McCullough, a senior linebacker on the football team, suffered a major concussion this season. “It was [against] Cooper, I got knocked unconscious and landed on Ikenna [Ujuagu],” McCullough said.

He was knocked out for about two minutes, and it was the third concussion of McCullough’s football career, meaning that he is done playing contact sports. To fully recover from his injury he had to see a doctor and stay in a dimly lit room for the first few days of his recovery. Serious injuries like this make everyday tasks difficult. “School was hard for a while; I couldn’t focus, and driving to drive my car was terrible” McCullough said.

McCullough has made a full recovery from his concussion, and he has gotten a lot of support from the team as coaches have talked to him and the players have texted him. Looking back on the injury, McCullough says he doesn’t remember much of that night as he regained consciousness. “I was like, ‘what’s going on?’” McCullough said.

Now fully recovered from his injury, McCullough has joined the cross country team for the remainder of the season, so that he can stay in good physical shape while also not participating in a contact sport.

Maria Van Hove, a midfielder and senior captain on the girls’ soccer team, suffered an ACL tear early in the season, in a game against Edina. “The defender went to pass the ball and I extended my leg to block the ball and [my knee] popped/buckled,” Van Hove said.

When the play happened she knew it was bad. “I knew immediately and felt sadness and disappointment–I knew I was done for the season,” Van Hove said.

After her knee surgery she immediately went into the recovery process, going to physical therapy two to three times per week, trying to get her muscles back to full strength and regain a certain range of motion. Unfortunately she has a long recovery ahead of her: six months until no contact practice and nine months until she can play. Like McCullough, Van Hove has also found everyday things, such as walking or driving, to be difficult with her injury, especially during the first month of recovery. Her friends and team have been very supportive of her efforts. “[The] players still treat me as a leader of the team,” Van Hove said.

As the girls soccer team continue their journey to the State Tournament, Van Hove will be leading from the sidelines.

Tino Fialo, a junior quarterback on the football team, also got seriously injured in a recent game. “I was running to my left, got hit on my right side, and landed awkwardly,” Fialo said.

When the injury first happened he wasn’t in too much pain, and he thought he had merely hyperextended his leg, but eventually he couldn’t really walk. Once the pain kicked in, “A lot of thoughts started running through my head,‘This could be bad,” Fialo said.

Fialo suffered an ACL tear, LCL tear, a tibial plateau fracture, and a possible PCL tear. He’ll be walking in four to six weeks and back on the field in six months. He is also involved in a recovery process of physical therapy and home exercises. After the injury, he was first in a wheelchair and now he is on crutches, both of which have made simple things difficult. Walking with crutches has been physically draining, and the injury itself has made many tasks harder, especially taking a shower or going to the bathroom. As Fialo makes his recovery, he will be on the sidelines at all the games, cheering on his teammates as the Red Knights make their push toward the State Tournament.