There's No Red Shirt in High School Sports

Injuries are common through out life. I can chop bushes today, pull a muscle and call in a PTO day. People make a misstep and break an ankle. Those who are covered by insurance can find a way to pay the bills while they recover. We all go back to work and if you are lucky your pay check comes on time every week regardless of whether you worked or not.

High school sports are much more harsh to its participants. The sport you play has only so many games. If you are lucky, you may add to the total by playing playoff games.

One little quirky injury and a high school player misses all or part of of a season. There is no red shirt in high school like in college. In college blow your knee out, that's ok. Concentrate of classes while you rehab the injury. You can play next year and we will call you a red shirt junior or senior. We will pretend as if your injury didn't happen and start all over next year. Relive the senior season that you missed.

If you look at Rocky Mount's football team they have had their share of injuries in the past few years. In fact it seemed as if Rocky Mount could not go a complete season after Terrell Hudgins left to finish a season with the quarterback that started the season.

Saturday night senior tight end Spencer Bell went down with an injury. I went by practice to see what the word was on his injury Monday. By the time I was there the rain shortened practice and I did not get out of my car to slosh through it.

The opinion Saturday night after the game was may be a broken collar bone.
Spencer's only catch of the night for fifteen yards is where I think he got hurt. Hustling to get more yards.

It's nobodys fault. Sometimes injuries just happen. Spencer like every other player who has ever been injured now must wait and let the injury heal. One thing that will not wait is the football season. If he is out two to four weeks he will miss at least three games of his senior season not to mention not playing after the first quarter Saturday night. If he is out two to four months his high school career in football may be over.

Spencer is being counted on to be a big part on Gryphon baseball. For sure this injury will not effect baseball. Oddly enough Spencer broke his nose late in the baseball season last year during a collision with Chris Pittman. Just to make sure all summer during Junior legion baseball he wore a contraption to protect his nose just so he would be healed by football season.

I have witnessed many defeats in my time doing broadcast of ball games. Walking in a locker room full of disappointment after trying so hard to make a victory. There is nothing as difficult as looking a player in the eyes knowing he can't play next week or maybe even the next after that.

Sometimes it is easier to console someone with words after death than to look at a mother and father who have seen their son give it his all to be ready for football season and in just a few seconds it could all be over.

Like many Gryphon families Saturday night the Bell family help feed the team after the victory. You know it had to be bitter sweet for them.

There is no red shirt in high school athletics.
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