It’s never fun to be sidelined, but it doesn’t mean that you have to say goodbye to the game that you love. Getting injured when you love sport is more than just physically painful, it can feel like you’re being cut off from a big part of who you are. Whether you’re a runner, a footballer, a tennis enthusiast or a golfer, sitting on the sidelines is never easy, especially when you’re watching other people enjoy the game.
But the good news is that just because you can’t play doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy the sport that you love. From keeping up with your favorite teams to finding new ways to engage with your first passion, there are plenty of ways that you can stay in the game even if you’re benched for a time. Let’s take a look below.
- Find ways to stay mentally in the game. If your body needs to rest and recuperate after an accident, it’s what you have to do. You have to put up your leg if it’s in a cast, and you have to come off of your arms if you’ve broken one, but that doesn’t mean your brain has to rest. There are loads of ways that you can keep your mind active and connected to the sport that you love. For example, if you’re a golfer, you might be finding that now is a good time to dive into a golf card game. It keeps that competitive spirit alive, and it allows you to sharpen your strategic thinking without putting strain on your injury. If golf’s not your thing, look into sports trivia games or fantasy leagues. You could even look at coaching apps where you get to play coach. Keeping mentally engaged can make the time pass quickly and remind you that you’re still part of something.
- Keep watching, listening, and learning. If you’re physically limited, then it’s time now to become a superfan. You can watch the live games, catch up on classic matches, and listen to sports podcasts. You could even tune into commentary or analysis shows. It’s not just entertaining, it can be surprisingly educational and you can learn even more about the game that you love. Watching professionals closely may give you fresh insight into techniques and strategies, too. Think of it as a temporary study leave from sport with plenty of inspiration thrown in.
- Stay as socially active as you can. One of the toughest parts of being injured is feeling like you’re missing out on the social side of sport, whether it’s the banter that you have with the team or the post game drink, you want to stay connected. Staying in touch with your teammates and fellow players can mean anything from dropping by training to say hi, go to watch matches in person if you can, or joining them at the pub for the usual post match chat. It may feel awkward at first because you’re not part of the actual game, but most people will likely be glad to see you and appreciate your support. If you’re part of a local club, volunteer to help with the admin or pitch up so that you can help the coaches or the refs. It’s not always easy to make the right decisions in the game that you love, so they’ll probably appreciate your eye and your input.
- Adjust your goals rather than your passion. Injuries can force us to take a step back that we weren’t expecting to take, and that can be mentally tough. If your season is over or your recovery is much longer than you expected it to be, then you need to think about how you can adjust what your goals are. It might be easy to feel discouraged, but this is your opportunity. You can reassess what you want from your sport in the long term and decide whether you really want to take it to the next level, especially if your injury has come from the sport that you so deeply love.
- Focus on your recovery. We tend to think of recovery as not doing any sport, but that’s not quite the truth. With the help of rehab, physio, rest and good nutrition, you’ll be able to treat recovery as if you’re training. Sticking to a rehab plan and celebrating the small improvements can help you to measure your progress and see yourself pushing forward. Whether it’s being pain free again or lifting a little more each week, every milestone will make a difference and it’s going to matter. Eventually when you return to your sport you’ll come back stronger both mentally and physically.
