Bridget’s Blog – Concussion

This week, Playersport soccer ambassador and From the Bleachers podcaster Ingrid Green interviewed our college soccer blogger Bridget Leach about how her first season is going.

Playersport: Hey Bridget!

Bridget: Hey, how are you?

Playersport: It’s nice to connect with you again. Your first blog post was an INTRO type post. Are you settling into a routine at school?

Bridget: Yeah it was difficult at first, it was a BIG change but the routine is good now

Playersport: What’s the most difficult adjustment to frosh life so far?

Bridget: Umm I would say just time management. I have soccer, school, study halls, work and my social life. You have to figure out what your main priorities are going to be.

Playersport: Sounds like a real juggling act. If you could go back in time two years give yourself ONE encouragement that would smooth the transition– what would it be?

Bridget: I would definitely say focus a lot more on school. I always just did enough to get by and I am really regretting it now because I have not yet figured out the best way to study that works for me and university moves so fast you need to have that down.

Playersport: Great tip !! Ok so if you think back before you got to WVU Tech, what were some of the expectations you had about being on scholarship at a US school? How is life at WVU Tech different from what you expected / hoped for?

Bridget: I would say my expectations were what my trainer (Maria DelGuerico) had told me about her experience. Mostly soccer was on my mind so I was excited about the little things like having a athletic trainer now, bigger crowds to watch games, all the gear and how strict my coach and captains would be. I didn’t really think about the school side of it. It has lived up to expectations so far. The criminal justice classes have been harder then expected though, so I am thinking of switch my major.

Playersport: Interesting. Different justice and legal systems in the United States, huh? Is that impacting your decision to switch your major?

Bridget: Yes, very different. I don’t think it is going to help me when I get back so I am switching my major to athletic coaching education and I have actually been thinking about coaching after I finish university maybe NAIA or maybe NCAA. I’M not sure yet.

Playersport: Very cool. You’ve had a bit of a break between blog posts. I heard you had a concussion. Talk a bit about that. What happened? What’s it been like since the concussion? Any affect on your schooling?

Bridget: My defender and one of the other team’s forwards were running side by side with the ball. Once they came in my box, I slid out to get the ball and tripped both of them. Both fell over top of me. My defender hit me in the side of the head with her knee and the forward of the other team landed on my head, which gave me whiplash. I went to the hospital in an ambulance and they diagnosed me with the concussion. I took a whole week off school because I couldn’t focus, couldn’t look at a computer screen, couldn’t read and every time I stood up I would get a little dizzy. Not to mention the painkillers and muscle relaxants making me drowsy.

Playersport: Wow. That’s a lot to handle. How did your professors take the absence from class? How did your team handle your absence from games?

Bridget: The profs were all really good with it except one but my athletic trainer emailed him and worked things out. My team was very supportive and they were also very supportive of our teammate who stepped in the goal. She did a great job.

Playersport: Awesome. So what are you looking forward to the most in the next few weeks?

Bridget: first road trip with the boys team on Friday should be fun. We have not traveled with them yet so it will be good to have some fans in the stands for an away game

Playersport: Nice. We look forward to hearing about the ROAD TRIP !!

Bridget: I’ll try to get a short video as well!

Playersport: Brilliant !! Until next time…