Well, this sucks. Joey slipped on spilled grease at his job, hyperextending his knee. Possible sprain, possible ligament damage. MRI scheduled for Wednesday.
I'll be sure to look for that number in the Kansas City area if you make it out this way in your travels.
MRI shows no ligament or tendon damage. Surface of kneecap appears rough and is collecting fluid. Joey wants to tough it out and play, and deal with it after the season, if the coach allows that. Position they are working him at is center.
He sounds motivated and likes football. With his size he could be a major force....I'm sure Dad wouldn't mind if some college recruiters showed up. Hope his knee heals ok.
Make sure Joey is in a knee brace every down of every practice, workout, etc, regardless if he's healed or not. A boy his size is putting a lot of stress through that joint and slight missteps are going to be magnified. He doesn't have to be injured to wear one, it'll guard against further injuries. Wishing him the best this season.
100% on the brace and you might want to get him stretching before and after every practice. I'm sure the team does their normal stretches but he's a bit boy and everything he can do to prevent injuries is time well spent. What about that DDP yoga? a Bit of strength training and stretching all in one. and I know you already know this but he is going to want to drop some additional wight and DDP is good motivator if you buy into his positivity.
Do more. I'm seeing more and more young kids fall out because of MAJOR injuries. One of my favorite players tore her Achilles tendon at 14 and is out for a year. She kept fighting through injuries and it all built up. Diet, training, practice and work ethic are important but injury prevention is what the kids need to work on most. Shit man, I'm trying to do what the pros tell my kid and that shit works. I've beaten my body like I stole it and now I'm paying for it but doing the shit they tell a teenage girl has helped me walk in a straight line in minutes where it used to take me an hour before.
Big D, not trying to be a dick but I'm seeing more and more of the dark side of middle school and HS sports. Kids who burn out like a roman candle, kids that drop out because they go balls out and crash and burn in a year or two, big boys who carry too much weight and get f@cked up fast. My kid is playing with a bunch of D1 players this summer who just liked her just enough to let her play and they beat the crap out of her like she plays college D1. They don't do it because they hate her, that's just the way they play. One thing they do and MAKE her do is stretch, warm up and cool down with them. They tell her the way things are and make sure she prevents injuries and warm up and cool down to keep her safe.