Athlete Interview: Rebecca Sicotte
Introduction:
Meet Rebecca Sicotte, a seasoned athlete from Independence High School who has suffered various injuries. Her most recent injury, a major hamstring strain, has sidelined her from running track for at least eight months. In this interview, Rebecca goes over her physical and mental states during this period and what it takes to come back from such a prolonged break due to injury.
Questions:
What caused you to develop this injury?
“I first felt my injury while hurdling at league finals. I ran the 300-meter hurdles and coming off the bend I was a little off balance when I began to pick my lead leg I overstretched it a bit and landed in a bad position. As I landed and tried to push off of my lead leg, I felt a sharp pain in my hamstring. Even before the race, I was aware of weakness in my hip flexors and some tightness in my legs but I thought nothing of it.”
What were your initial thoughts when you first heard about your injury?
“When I first realized the existence of my injury and the severity of it, I was mostly just in denial. Division finals were coming up and I did not want to miss them. I was frustrated, walking hurt, running even more, and my hurdling was even worse.”
What kind of recovery did you do to come back from this injury?
“After my season ended I decided to take some time off to rest physically and mentally. After my resting period, I slowly began training again, starting with a low number of reps and lower intensity and built myself back up. I have also been going to physical therapy, stretching more, focusing more on mobility, and listening to my body when it is hurting.”
How did this injury impact you mentally?
“This injury affected me mentally since it prevented me from running how I wanted to and I didn't get the results I had been working for all season. I tried everything I could to make my body good enough to run for division finals to make it to sectionals but I still was not able to do so. I felt like I wasn't doing enough and all my efforts from the season went to waste. I now realize that even though my season was not the best, I have more seasons to do even better and I can build off of my last season.”
Conclusion:
Rebecca has now healed from her injury through continued recovery and making use of the physical therapists at her school. She is prepping for the winter track season in hopes of making it to prestigious meets such as the Arcadia Invitational in the 300-meter hurdles.