WHAT HAPPENS when an eagle hurts its wings? It slows down and takes time to heal. In the same way, Blue Eagles are never alone outside the battlefield when they fall. 

Behind every sprain, broken bone, or sudden injury is a community ready to lift athletes up. Coaches, teammates, and friends alike are there to help Atenean student-athletes confront not only physical pain but also their unspoken battle between frustration, self-doubt, and the fear of letting their teams down. 

However, much of this struggle and recovery usually happens beyond the court, emphasizing that athlete support becomes even more important when they are sidelined and are struggling to rise again. The depth of sacrifice they take to wear the Blue and White is revealed not just in highlight reels and record-worthy plays, but in the unseen realities of resilience and perseverance.

Rising stars, rising injuries

With more eyes watching and the pressure mounting each athletic year, Ateneo’s athletes pour everything into their performances. Training hours stretch longer,  recovery becomes more difficult, and the hunger to raise the school’s banner burns hotter than ever. While this passion is as admirable as it is infectious, the Blue Eagles’ elevated athletic standards come with a side effect, as injuries become increasingly common and quite devastating.

Players dive for one more save, leap for another kill, or run for one last steal, all in hopes of dominating the game. As athletes push past their limits in training and competitions, their sheer willpower propels Ateneo forward. However, in the pursuit of victory, this athletic selflessness also makes these athletes vulnerable to injury.

This kind of zeal tested the University last season, with three career-altering injuries to Ateneo Women’s Volleyball Team key players Geezel Tsunashima, Sobe Buena, and Jlo Delos Santos. On the very first day of their UAAP Season 87 against Adamson, Tsunashima landed from a block and heard her bones crack. “Because of that, I knew I would be out of the season,” explained Tsunashima on her early exit.

Meanwhile, for Buena, who landed on both feet and twisted her right knee inward during the March 9 game against the University of Santo Tomas, the outside hitter shared, “When I got injured, I knew that it was really [going to] be a long and hard process, since it takes about a year [to recover].” “I got a full tear on my right ACL, and I also got an MCL sprain,” she continued. What could have been breakthrough matches ended as vivid reminders of how fragile even the strongest veterans can be.

However, it is not always during games that athletes deal with significant stalls. Sometimes, the toughest injuries happen far from the crowd’s gaze, during training, when an athlete is quietly determined to improve. Such was the case with former Ateneo Women’s Taekwondo Team Captain James Macasaet in the run-up to her final season appearance. Sparring one-on-one with her teammate in training, the jin fell after absorbing a full-force attack, falling down and suffering a head seizure.  “[My teammates] were giving me blankets and [they] even went to the nurse’s office [at] Moro. They were covering me in blankets, but I was not [feeling cold],” she shared.

As serious as an athlete’s plight may be, the journey never ends with damaged wings. The Blue Eagles may be forced to navigate paths they did not choose, be it the slow road to recovery or the nagging question of whether they will be able to return to the tarmac. Nevertheless, they move forward.

Navigating strong winds

With the increased pressure to perform in the sporting landscape, injuries have become more challenging for athletes to overcome in their careers. However, the process of rehabilitation and recovery is arguably more difficult, as athletes may also encounter setbacks in the process, taking a toll on their mental health.

Echoing this, Buena mentioned her doubts as she underwent her recovery process, recognizing that she might never be the same player again post-injury.

“Since the process is kind of long, you’re going to [have doubts like], ‘When will I be able to play again?’ or ‘Will I even be able to run or jump again properly?” she said.

These sentiments reveal that these athletes are humans, young men and women still adapting to their bodies while struggling with self-doubt. Hence, treatment and recovery must be carefully handled to both maximize their pro ambitions and prevent long-term pain.

To this, Tsunashima shared that the Women’s Volleyball Team’s strength and conditioning program has shifted in focus after the series of injuries it saw last Season 87.

“[Our] strength, conditioning, [and] weights programs changed a little bit […] the week after I was injured. I remember them changing it to focusing [more] on the landing and improving on the technique,” she recalled.

With the recovery and rehabilitation process being much more than a simple matter of recovering from physical injury, it highlights the underlying sacrifices that these student athletes endure behind the scenes. This also emphasizes the importance of not only recovery and rehabilitation, but also maintaining their health on a holistic basis.

Cura personalis

Being an athlete means that maintaining top physical condition is paramount for performing at the highest level. In the Atenean context, one maxim encapsulates this entire notion—cura personalis.

Ian Banzon, MD, a sports medicine physician and an Ateneo alumna, emphasized that taking care of oneself is the most important thing an athlete should do. “Your investment is your body,” she said.

The support the University provides its athletes to take care of themselves goes a long way, with both Buena and Tsunashima highlighting that the University’s resources made their recovery more manageable by covering medical costs and providing mental health access via sports psychologists Cam Rodriguez and Juju Joseph.

However, as factors like resource constraints hinder the quality of care the athletes get, more needs to be done to truly exemplify cura personalis for those who don the Blue and White, as Tsunashima alluded to.

“I think there’s a need to have more inclusivity for other sports to receive the same physical treatment, especially when they’re injured,” she chimed.

This sentiment is echoed through the experiences of certain Ateneo teams, with student-athlete Sunshine* explaining how their team worked around their resource constraints.

“Our coach bought an entire set of barbells, dumbbells, medicine balls, and jump boxes, and he bought all of that because we don’t have a strength and conditioning coach,” the athlete said.

All in all, the increasingly demanding nature of modern sports forces athletes to push themselves harder to achieve success. This makes them more vulnerable to physical injury, highlighting the need for robust systems to nurture and care for athletes both physically and mentally—something yet to be fully realized in an institution as hallowed as the Ateneo. 

Amid the glitz and glamour of being an Ateneo Blue Eagle, it remains crucial that these young athletes are properly cared for, so they do not have to pay too high a price for the sacrifices they make in the pursuit of success. 

*Editor’s Note: The name of the interviewee has been changed to protect their identity and privacy.