Injuries have derailed what should have been a great final season for Jessica Taylor, a player on the Yuba College Women’s basketball team (and a friend of mine since high school). She has suffered through an injury-plagued season, and it has had an effect on her.
“Its super sad because I missed the entire season based on injuries,” she said.
Jessica has only been able to play in eight of the team’s 23 games, and has only been able to finish six of them.
Her struggles began in the second game of the season. At the LA Southwest College tournament, she attempted to take a charge in the first quarter, and was knocked to the floor, hitting her head in the process. Jessica attempted to stand up, only to fall back down.
She was diagnosed with a concussion and missed the rest of the game and the next seven.
Jessica returned determined to become a starter. As a freshman she had seen limited time as a reserve the first third of the season, before earning quality minutes down the stretch, so she relished the opportunity to earn starter minutes as a sophomore.
She finally became a starter, but in her second start against Marin College she slipped a disk in her back in the first quarter, missing the rest of the game and the next eight.
“It’s been frustrating,” she said.
Back issues are nothing new to Jessica though. One of the reasons she will not be able to transfer to a university to play basketball is because she has had back problems since she was ten years old when she suffered a herniated disk playing softball, and was diagnosed with arthritis in her back at age 12.
In addition, as a post player, Jessica stands too short at 5’9” to get any realistic look from a 4-year university as a basketball player, so effectively these injuries have spoiled what is her final season as an athlete on a competitive basketball team.
She hasn’t let this get her down though, as she has focused on the ways she can contribute if not on the court.
“Trying to be a mentor” she said, “because I can’t be on the court.”
She’s become a more vocal and more encouraging teammate, as her impact off the court has been felt greater without her impact on the court.
Jessica’s athletic career contained some light at the end of the tunnel however. After her lengthy absence from the court, she was able to play against Napa Valley on February 9th, the final home game of the season and sophomore night for the athletes. Jessica logged 2 points on 1-3 shooting and a rebound in a 43-42 loss to Napa Valley.She was also able to play in the last two games of the season, including 8 points on 3-4 shooting in a 50-46 win against Mendocino.
Jessica’s college life will not end after this semester, even though her athletic career will. She plans to attend the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
“It’s really cool because it’s the 6th oldest English school in the UK,” she said.
She plans to study as an English major, with the career goal of becoming a high school teacher. She also shows great interest in teaching abroad, writing a book, and earning a master’s degree in order to become a college professor, though her main focus for now is becoming a high school teacher.
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