I've talked a lot about VCT Game Changers, and what happened there. However, I did not tell about the drama that unfolded in the days leading up to the tournament. The pressure before the tournament was high, since the team was quite new and there was a big tournament coming up, we had to put a new gear into the training.
When you enter training periods that are more intense, you unfortunately rarely escape injury.
The athletes really want to do good, which can results in injuries or starting injuries.
This of course happened with the team!
We had an injury 3 days before the tournament. Of course, we had several substitutes ready to play, but the optimal thing is of course to field a full team that is 100%.
Fortunately, the player made a responsible decision and told me as soon as she felt the beginning of wear and tear.
Now it is the case that one of the biggest reasons why athletes wait to report starting injuries, and that they are also silent when the injury is a fact, is because they are afraid of being benched, i.e. that they will not be allowed to play. One therefore wants to find other possibilities than benching the players, but unfortunately that is not always possible. And here it was unavoidable.
In this case, it was an aching wrist, which might not seem like a big deal. But the wrist is incredibly important for e-sports athletes.
If the wrist hurts or is injured, then playing ceases, and preferably for a long time. So here, the only option was to claim completely two, and not participate in training in the last days before the VCT.
It was a tough decision to make, because staying on top of training in the days leading up to the tournament is important, both for the individual player, but also for the team and the dynamics of the team, especially when the team is relatively fresh. But an injury has a bigger impact, and the health of the players is of course most important.
It is possible that it would have gone well and pushed, but I was not willing to take that chance.
Therefore, it was a short bench. And the small interruption was fortunately useful.
The break meant no playing in training, but also no playing in free time, rest of the arm, and light stretching exercises of the wrist.
The tournament was successfully completed and the player was able to participate in the tournament.
So despite a couple of days off, it worked out for the best for everyone.
So the moral of the story is that the players must be honest with the coach about starting injuries or pain.
Here we got in early, and it was a relatively small measure that had to be put in place, although it may not have felt quite like that to the player involved.
But she was able to participate in the tournament, without pain and played king!
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