With over 20 varsity sports at Grayslake Central High School, there are many athletes who work as hard as they can for their teams. But as the games we love evolve and start to go at a faster pace, injuries become all the more likely.

Glen Gerdes, Head Athletic Director at Central, who has worked in Grayslake for 30 years, said that student injuries rates have “increased for sure. Due to increased numbers, unprepared first time athletes, over training and improper warm-ups.” Gerdes also said the sports that cause the most injuries are football and track “due to the volume of athletes.” For advice on limiting injuries he recommended, “improved preseason preparation, listening to their bodies and stopping with any issues, proper recovery.”

But this type of trend isn’t just a rising problem in high school sports. The same thing is happening in the professional leagues, specifically the NBA. The NBA has a long 82 game season, with teams consistently playing back-to-back games. Last year in the NBA playoffs three of the biggest starts in the postseason suffered a torn Achilles – Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, and Tyrese Haliburton. While Tatum was able to return late in the season the other two were unable to play a single minute in the 25-26 season. Steve Kerr, head coach for the Golden State Warriors, raised concerns about this issue in November of last year saying, “the games are much higher-paced, everyone has to cover out to 25 feet because everybody can shoot threes. We have all the data. Players are running faster and further.” Kerr recommended shortening the season to try and limit injuries but the chances of that are unlikely.

So, with a new season of spring sports at Central and a new series of the playoffs for the NBA, athletes are ready to put it all out there for their teams, but along with this passion, athletes must also work hard to keep themselves as healthy as possible.