UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma shared his concerns about the alarming rate of injuries in women's sports, after UConn's Caroline Ducharme announced on Tuesday that she would miss the remainder of the season due to ongoing head and neck issues. Injuries came into sharp focus for the Huskeis, already decimated by injuries, nearly missed a game due to player shortages.
The Huskies, who started the season with a full roster of 14, have seen significant attrition due to injuries. Season-ending surgeries were required for Jana El Alfy, Ayanna Patterson, Azzi Fudd and Aubrey Griffin.
This situation isn't isolated to UConn. The nationwide impact was highlighted by TCU's recent forfeitures against Kansas State and Iowa State. The Horned Frogs, plagued by a series of injuries, took the unprecedented step of holding open tryouts, even recruiting from other sports to fill their roster.
Auriemma, who has faced similar challenges in past seasons, expressed his frustration and bewilderment at the situation.
“But it's such an unfortunate situation. If you look around the country, people are scratching their heads trying to figure things out and how this is happening,” Auriemma said, per Carl Adamec of CT Insider. “I've talked to a lot of doctors and a lot of surgeons and they'll you that the probability in women's sports for injuries is way higher than in men's sports. We're just in a bad cycle in the country right now.”
UConn dealing with its own share of injuries
UConn's Aaliyah Edwards reflected on her team's situation, emphasizing the importance of gratitude.
“For sure, I think just being grateful and blessed that the situation I am in personally or my teammates are in be more appreciative of the game and of the quality time we spend with each other. You never know when it can be taken away from you in a split second,” Edwards said. “I'm always just showing love from a distance and definitely praying for them and wishing they have a speedy recovery and not wishing anybody on other teams any injuries.”
Injuries have also affected other teams and prominent players. Kansas State's Ayoka Lee and Stanford's Cameron Brink are among the latest high-profile athletes sidelined by injuries, adding to the growing list of concerns for coaches and sports administrators.
While the reasons for this trend are not fully understood, Geno Auriemma suggested factors like overuse at a young age, specialization in a single sport and early weight training might contribute. He also questioned the impact of pre-college injuries, as many of his recruits had previous injury histories.
“What we have found as the No. 1 predictor is previous injuries that you came here with,” Auriemma said. “I don't know how it is at other places. But except for Jana, every one has had a previous injury that they came here. Is it overuse at a young age? Is it they only play that sport since they're young? Is it some kids start a weight training program too early? I don't know. I don't know.”
Despite the challenges, both UConn and TCU are pushing forward with their seasons. The Huskies are set to play No.15 Notre Dame on Saturday, while TCU will face Texas Tech.
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