Hi everyone! this blog is very personal to me and I’ve had a hard time writing it. I’m sure you’ve noticed I’ve not posted many cheerFIT challenge workouts, or posted much of anything really. I have not forgotten about any of you!
In early September, I was seriously injured during a routine All Star Cheer practice with my team. I was basing and my flyer came down in an awkward way. When she landed, her knee came up and hit my nose in a palm strike fashion. I continued through practice, but didn’t feel well when I got home. The next morning, my eyes and into the bridge of my nose was swollen. I couldn’t breath. I could barely see.
I have spent the past few months with numerous trips to Vanderbilt children’s hospital. I will be having surgery in December and possibly again in the Spring.
This has been one of the hardest times in my life! I’ve spent the entire last year working my tail off for my cheer career and my team. I spent my entire summer traveling and working with other gyms and tumble coaches to improve my tumbling skills. I put in easily 10 to 12 hours a week with privates and practices getting ready for this years competition season which started this month for my old team. It was so difficult to have to make the decision to put all that on hold. I even begged my parents to let me just stay the way I am and let me finish this season out with my squad. My mind new that would be careless and nothing is as important as my health. My heart on the other hand, was in so much pain. I felt like I was letting my team down, my coaches, basically anyone who had worked with me this past year. I cried for weeks!
Injuries in cheerleading are a given. It’s not an “If you get hurt”, it’s “when you get hurt”. In late August, I had actually sustained another injury to my left knee. I came out of at tumble pass awkwardly because I saw someone coming onto the tumble mat out of the corner of my eye. I bailed and landed really hard on my left knee, driving it down into the spring floor. The Dr. said I had fluid all over my knee and needed to wait to see what was going to happen with it. Before that, I had an injury to my hip. It was getting to the point I could barely walk. The one common thing my Dr’s kept telling me during these injuries was since my body was in such great physical shape, it actually kept me from being seriously injured. My Orthopedist even asked what I did for conditioning, because he wanted to recommend it to the other cheerleaders he worked with.
Unfortunately all the months I spent doing my cheerFIT workouts, my weekly the strength is in us challenges from Soffe, my running, my stretching, all the conditioning couldn’t help when I got hit in the face. But thankfully, it really helped when I had the other injuries. This is why I am so passionate about working out. About conditioning and keeping your body strong! Cheerleaders bodies take poundings. The most common injuries are knee, hips and back. If you build up the muscles around your knees and hips, if you keep your core stable and strong, you really lesson the risk and severity of the injuries you do sustain.
My best advice is to work hard during season to prevent injury! You can never condition too much! If you do get injured, listen to what your doctors tell you to do! Rest, do what conditioning you can, and surround yourself with your closest friends!
If it wasn’t for my closest friends, Taylor, Blake, Emmi, Madison and Dominque, helping me to get through this really difficult time, I think I would have gone crazy! It’s a big adjustment going full out everyweek, to being forced to slow down! Having them there to vent to, to listen, to make me laugh, to encourage me, I can never thank them enough!
If it wasn’t for my closest friends, Taylor, Blake, Emmi, Madison and Dominque, helping me to get through this really difficult time, I think I would have gone crazy! It’s a big adjustment going full out everyweek, to being forced to slow down! Having them there to vent to, to listen, to make me laugh, to encourage me, I can never thank them enough!
Happy December!
Love, hugs, back handsprings and holiday cheer.
Eden Lucie
Eden
Eden is a 10 year old All Star Cheerleader and Power tumbler from Carthage, Tn. Eden’s passion is tumble and cheerleading and her future goals are to continue with All Stars, while cheering in Jr high, high school and onto College. Eden is a straight A student and participates in numerous charities and true believe of fitness.