Right now, I’m one week into football practices and dealing with a major cold at the same time. (When I say major cold, I’m not exaggerating. This might be the worst cold I’ve ever had.) This combination, while not tragic, is still quite troublesome. The cold isn’t hindering my abilities to play, but there is a chance that I’m not getting enough rest to recover. As a student-athlete (or anyone else with a busy life), there are times when you need to decide if it is time to take a break and heal.
When I am sick during or before a major event, I follow this protocol to determine whether or not I will be able to take part:
- Once I recognize that I am truly sick, I stop and evaluate myself. “How sick am I?” While this seems obvious, sometimes you miss things in the blur of it all. I have had times where I realized that I wasn’t very sick and was just being dramatic, while there are other times where I was actually very sick.
- Next, I find out if I’m contagious. This isn’t necessarily stopping me from going, but it is a deciding factor. If you are very sick and highly contagious, you shouldn’t compete in a chili cookoff.
- After that, I try to determine if this activity will make me sicker. If it will, I’m less likely to partake. Getting sicker is not going to end well for me.
- Finally, I determine how much it means to me. If there’s a state championship football game on the line, I’ll be there no matter what. On the other hand, missing a practice or two isn’t always the worst (as long as you’re sick enough to miss school).
- Just kidding about that finally part. There’s a step five — sorta. In the end, I always follow my gut. If something feels like a bad idea, don’t do it. In my experiences, I have found that my gut is usually right.
There are times to battle through illness and there are times to rest and recover. While this decision may not seem like a big deal, it can have a major impact, so remember to think it out and consider it before doing anything rash.