Oct. 3, 2011
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For an athlete, coming back from an injury can be a grueling experience, involving surgery, hours of rehab appointments, and the fear of re-injury.
One is bad enough. Charlie Jones has had four.
Jones tore his menisci twice on each knee, requiring both left and right knees to be scoped and repaired. By the fourth surgery, he said he was so used to the process that he was back on the court within a few days.
“The first time I did it, I took it slow and it took me about the whole summer to rehab it,” said Jones. “By the third time I did it, I was back on the court like two weeks later. I was just good at it–at that point, I’d done it so many times.”
His experience with injuries, which did not stop him from being ranked by the ITA as a top collegiate player in preseason rankings, has helped fellow teammates Ryan Lipman and Anton Kovrigin as they go through their own rehab stints, after both going through surgery this past year.
Kovrigin tore his ACL. Lipman tore the labrum in his hip.
Both are on the courts with their team every day, practicing with a limited range of motion and providing encouragement to the team.
For Kovrigin, whose powerful serve and forehand have been a staple of his play before arriving at Vanderbilt, this is an opportunity to become an even smarter player.
“Since I’m not playing, I watch the guys, and I learn from their mistakes,” said Kovrigin. “Jamie took me to the tournament in Athens. I got to chart the guys and watch their matches and I saw what they were doing on the court. You’re seeing it from a different perspective, because usually you’re playing and more worried about yourself.”
For Lipman, it’s a long process, but one that he is taking in stride. The junior, who was ranked No. 13 overall in a preseason poll by the ITA, said, “I’ve been hitting, and it doesn’t feel like I’ve taken a day off. My timing’s good. It’s just going to be all about trusting my movement again.”
“(The surgery) wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be,” said Lipman. “I kind of hyped it up and made it worse than it actually was. But the recovery has been long.”
Lucky for all three, they have access to an excellent training staff, where they attend rehab. “Honestly, the training staff does such a good job here that if you just listen to them, they’re going to make the right decisions,” said Jones.
“I talked to Charlie right after surgery,” said Kovrigin. “He told me that the recovery process here is a lot faster than when he was at home.”
Both Kovrigin and Lipman are more focused on getting healthy than on their approaching spring season, each spending plenty of time under trainer Tracy Campbell’s watchful eye.
“Just take it day by day and do everything you can to get better that day,” said Kovrigin. “You can’t do anything about the past or the future. Just rehab as best you can every day.”
