For this project, the interview focuses on Peter, a friend’s cousin who is a rugby player and has been playing since he was in middle school. He has suffered several injuries since he became a member of his middle school team through to his college team. Peter plays in different positions including that of a hooker and sometimes as a prop due to his high speed and strength. Peter is 21 years old, and has a well-built body structure that enables him to play effective and has over time in practice acquired skills to be swift and fast which works in coordination with his team members and has achieved a continuous win in competitions over the years.
Peter had previously experiences dislocations and a sprain in middle school before he became a prop in college. He also suffered a concussion during the pre-seasonal training which caused him to not participate in the seasonal games. As a hooker, peter is exposed to roughness due to his station with the opposition team hooker and at the center of the scrum. His responsibility is to control the scrum and thrown the ball into the tunnel while maintaining the control of his feet. He first got an injury during a tackle that led to the dislocation of his left shoulder joint. In a different match, he sprained his ankle which also earned him some time off the time as he recovered. The biggest and most serious injury that saw him fail to play for two consecutive seasons was the concussion he suffered during his preseason training and left him critically injured and in need of rehabilitation therapy for a period of time.
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After his concussion, his team suffered a major blow and lost their next match which stressed him deeply. He played an important role in the team as a mentor and hooker and many of his teammates relied on him for direction and guidance and were disappointed to play without him in the match. The coach of his team encouraged him and other team members to remain focused and he would recover and play again for the team his family was distraught at the time but supported and walked with him through the rehabilitation and recovery process. His rugby team had a culture of celebrating every win in jubilation after every major game. Their loss in his absence further aggregated the effect of his absence and dulled the morale and action of the team. Peter aspires to play for the national team and is perfecting his skills towards the same. He is outgoing, agile and focused especially on his position as a team.
Reported Injury Response
Peter’s response towards his injury was one of courage and tolerance. When he suffered the concussion different people responded in different ways. His family was worried and upset about him and the effect the injury had on his future. His coach and team members were troubled and worried about the future of the team. His friends and schoolmates were pitiful and disappointed since they enjoyed watching him play.
Biological
Since the nature of his favorite sport is persistent contact Peter states that he did not quite understand what transpired before his concussion since as he did in most of his games he defended his team in positioning and tackling and has no idea how it all ended in a precarious fall. He, however, recalls feeling a sharp pain in the back of his head and saw an opponent team player gasp in shock before he was confused and dazed and within a minute passed out. The first aid team offered an ice pack for his head and when he came onto himself he experiences a blurred vision and extreme pain in his head that persistent continuously until he was rushed to the hospital for proper medical scan and treatment. He experiences stiffness and body ache unlike his previous injuries when he had experienced pain that cleared out in a few days allowing him to play.
Psychological
Peter was frustrated and disappointed after his injury due to its difference from the previous falls. He was afraid of losing his ability to play and for some time got anxious and entertained thoughts of what would happen if he was unable to ever play again. He then got angry with himself for being so careless and blamed himself for his injury arguing he was could have prevented the injury.it became more frustrating when his team lost the game and felt that they could have achieved more had he been present to participate in the game. However, it was not entirely his fault as the team members also felt let down and blamed their dismal performance on the reliance on one player. He was however positive about his recovery and was optimistic that he would play again and restore the glory of his team.
Sociological
As it happens almost in every team, the coach and players were supportive offering positive encouragements and assurances that he would be able to rejoin the team and continue with the game. The coach and family worked in unison to ensure that he was kept up to date with the news of the team and he never missed a match in every season when he was undergoing treatment and rehabilitation. His presence motivated the team and he always encouraged the reminding them of their potential and capability to play successfully even without him. His family was offered moral and emotional support by reducing pressure and expectations during this period and always offering a listening ear and space for him to vent and direct his frustration during the hard times.
Dominant themes
Peter’s role in the team and the extent of his injuries present several dominant themes including the support system and factors that affect the return to play. In his case we see a lot of support from parent’s, family members, brothers and sisters, teammates, his coach, and rehabilitation center counselors and therapists. They encouragement was crucial to his self-confidence and recovery process and it effectively boosted his spirits and efforts to heal and regain his composure to play again. Return to play the can be well outlined using the model of initial return recovery, confirmation, return to physical abilities, high intensity training, and later return to competition (Laker, 2015).
Peter’s progress through the process outlined in the model was swift and successful from his diagnosis, medication and x-rays. His recovery confirmation was full of tasks due to his body stiffness but slowly through practice he was able to participate in the sport again. His return to Physical/Technical abilities was draining both psychological and physically as he continued his practice and recovery (Taylor & Taylor 1997). After joints and ligaments were flexible he was able to progress to high intensity training to perfect his skills and when his body was back to his prior and even better refined position he was able to return to competition.
Application
If I was a sport psychological professional, working with Peter during his injury I would work start with establishing a rapport with him and gain a position to reassure and tackle his frustration. I would enhance his social support but ensuring he gets the proper support after evaluating his needs and employ the right hypothesis in his case. Since I understand the role that appropriate social support plays in recovery my aim would be to ensure psychological support to avoid distress and getting overwhelmed (Williams & Andersen, 1998). Since Peter had initially blamed himself for his failures and assessed himself as having let down the team I would use the self-determination theory and the acceptance and commitment theory. Self-determination theory (Laker, 2015),would help him assess his strengths and importance towards his team which would help him concentrate on recovery by working on himself first putting his focus on achieving what is best for him and the team.
The acceptance and commitment theory would see him refute taking the blame for the action that he did not have control over and accept the situation as it was and commit himself to concentrate on what lay ahead for him and his aspirations of joining the national team. Paying close attention to his thoughts but to turn the encroaching negative thoughts and instead replace with the positive thoughts that stress recovery and increased ability to perform better after healing (Taylor & Taylor 1997). These two psychological interventions would go a long way in reassuring and instilling confidence. With an aim of creating a picture of a better future compared to the past I would that usually associate with returning into the competition I would engage my skills of positive imagination and conjure a future filled with success and winning with hi receiving awards as the best prop or hooker. This would ascertain his position in the future gain and he would look forward to rejoining the competition and practices for the game not with thoughts of failure or injury but with aspiration of achieving the best ever results.
To understand peter better and have an in-depth knowledge of his thoughts and feeling during this time, I would ask him to keep a journal where he records his fears thoughts feelings and aspiration. Gaining an insight into his life especially through this time will help me utilize my skills to help his recovery and inspire progress. This will also provide an avenue for me to use assess the basic psychological needs which are associated with fear of failing to reach the pre-injury levels, fear of reoccurrence of injury pressure from the coach and teammates and family concerns and tendencies to react over cautious during the return to play (Williams & Andersen, 1998). Psychological readiness of returning to play is based on motivation, expectation, and confidence (Laker, 2015). The motivation offered through rehabilitation and social support from family and friends has played its role. Peter has positive expectations that he will achieve his national team membership after rejoining the competition has motivated him to continue working.
Reflection
The interview was successful and achieved most of its targeted answers. As each new endeavor comes with new experiences I feel that this interview was exceptional and impactful as it provided an opportunity to explore the world of rugby. I gained new insights into the challenges that come with engaging the enjoyable to watch the game though as its audience we do not understand what it entails to achieve those almost perfect throws or tackles. I was also impressed by my ability to augment and achieve a more direct approach to an emotional subject which entails pain, regret, and blame.
It was a challenging experience because I had to ask and dig for details that the athlete was unwilling to engage in due to the feeling the arousal of negative and depressing thoughts. My negative side of the interview stems from the structure of the questions and presentations. I feel that if they were structured and phrased differently. A unique, more informative and insightful conversation would have ensued revealing to us more. It was difficult for me to establish a rapport and create a suitable environment for the athlete to share without limitation or censoring. I, however, did my best to show genuine concern over the injury and assure the athlete that I had the best intentions at heart.
References
Laker, S. R. (2015). Sports-related concussion. Current Pain and Headache Reports, 19(8), 1-8
Taylor, J., & Taylor, S. (1997). Psychological Approaches to Sports Injury Rehabilitation. Aspen
Publishers: Gaithersburg, MD
Williams, J. M., & Andersen, M. B. (1998). Psychosocial antecedents of sport injury: Review
And critique of the stress and injury model. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 10, 5-25
