Facing injuries by Sofia

Facing injuries by Sofia - May 2026 Scholarship Essay

The bright lights were shining above me and there was music glaring in my ears, I look forward and see the flashing lights obscuring my vison from seeing past me. Taking a deep breath I run for my tumbling pass and and the wind passes my ears and I hear people cheering, then a sharp pain spikes through my left leg as I flip again and collapse to the floor, the music blaring and hearing a distant get up from my right. I try to stand and fall to the ground the pan in my leg overpowering everything. The music stops and I am rushed to the hospital. I have strained my ankle at my 1st all star cheer competition.

I had just joined cheer after quitting gymnastics and fell in love with tumbling and the competitive nature of the sport, tumbling had soon become a big part of my life and I couldn't imagine what I would do with out it. The weeks before my competition I had worked hard to get a new tumbling pass to add to the routine it was the fun of the sport. Now that I have sprained my ankle I was unable to tumble let alone walk. Watching the team tumble while I sat on the side lines made me upset, as I know I can do the tumbling my ankle was holding me back. Being unable to tumble because of my injury was a challenge that I was terrified of after experiencing it. tumbling was something I loved and one of the only things that gave me something to look forward too after a long day of school, it was one of the only things that made me happy and loosing that was horrifying.

After getting better there was no rush into getting back into tumbling I was back to where I was before my injury and more getting put into more tumbling passes, and learning harder skills. But I sprained my ankle again, after tumbling and redoing the pass I failed to do to ensure I am not scared of it, the pain was unbearable but the situation wasn't as bad as now I knew what to do to recover and go back to tumbling.

The difference between now and then was that now I knew what to do and the brace I was wearing reduced the severity of the injury. I was able to get of crutches quicker and walk more quickly then I had done last time, and was going back to tumbling on a softer surface to reduce the impact on my ankle. What was once a horrifying experience to loose my ability to tumble was more more bearable through preventative measures like the braces I now wear in tumbling and the knowledge to know what to do when wanting to go back and strengthening my leg. Knowing the steps I needed to take to get back made the experience less threatening to my ability to tumble and gives me hope that I can recover quicker then before.