Part of the Team

Another common trait among the injured is to continue to be a part of the team. The fact that they do not dress for games does not take this away.

Even after Vender knew that she would never hit the water again, she continued to go to as many meets as she could. Vender couldn't go to the away events--her back wouldn't allow her to sit in a bus--but she went to home meets as often as she could.

"They're my friends," Vender says. "It's hard to watch them, and I'd love to train with them... [but] they're doing really well, and that makes me happy."

Sophomore Eileen Horwath, a field hockey player, missed the last season probably due to a pulled ligament in her back, though even now no one is sure. However, she continued to go to all practices and games, as is the norm for injured athletes that can still walk.

"Practice started at about three," Horwath says, "and I'd be there at two. I'd simply watch practice.

"It's about a 130 percent more of a time commitment--every single game, every single road trip--you want to be there to support your team and coach."

Lengthy Rehab

For those athletes who do heal before the season ends, all the effort makes it that much sweeter.

Senior Tarlin Ray was understandably excited about this upcoming year--after three seasons of playing for the junior varsity basketball team, he was moving up to the varsity. However, he sustained a stress fracture sometime in November and returned to the court about a month ago.

"It makes it that much more exciting when you come back out to practice," says Ray, who is Rankin's roommate in Leverett House. "You don't take it for granted anymore."

That's not to say that getting injured is a good thing. Rehabilitating is a time-consuming, difficult endeavor.

Konik, of course, spent all of 1993 strengthening his knee.

"It was hard, but I knew that I had to do it," he says. "I chose to stay home and rehab it. There was a lot of dead time at home."

He spent his time at a nearby clinic, which helped him get back into his skates again.