I know that everyone reacts differently to injury, so I can only tell you about my experience. There is no one way of dealing with injury and setback, but I hope that at least a few things I have to say will apply to other injured athletes.

I had my first surgery on my should in the beginning of 2000, and I have to admit that I did not deal with it well. But I healed and continued to compete in the sport that I love, and when I graduated from college, I was blessed with the opportunity to come and train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Less than three months into my training time out here, I tore up my shoulder again, worse than I had the first time. Although I knew a few things to prepare myself during this round of rehabilitation, it has still been tough.

Both times I had surgery, the estimated time for when I'd be back on the mat wrestling would be about four months. While I am unable to wrestle, I am in some ways a different person. Usually I have no problem finding at least one good thing in each situations that arises in my life, but when I am injured, I find myself not only unable to find a positive side of things, but I often find that I can hardly stop myself from getting dragged down by all of the negative thoughts I have. Even the small frustrations seem bigger and harder to deal with.

There are going to be a lot of things I don't like when I can train or compete. The rehab is slow and painful, and I have to come face to face with everything that I cannot do on a daily basis. I worry about falling behind my competition, and there are days when I don't feel like doing the things that will get me back on the mat again.

I have to re-evaluate my situation all of the time to just remind myself that my job while I am injured is not the same job I have while I am training and competing. My focus has to be to get my shoulder back into wrestling shape again. I prefer the pain of training to the pain of rehabilitation.

I have learned that I need to change the way I think about my training. I always feel good when I am making improvements in technique, but I have struggled to feel good about making improvements I make in my rehab. I have learned to be confident and satisfied that I am doing everything possible to improve, even though I would rather be wrestling with a opponent, rather than wrestling with my injury.

Fatigue and soreness are a part of rehab as much as they a part of training. The only difference is the frustration is a great part of rehab than it is in training. In a normal training situation I would be frustrated concerning my daily improvement in conditioning, skills, and tactics. While I am injured, I am frustrated with my rehab progress on top of being frustrated that I can't do my partake in my normal training.

What I have learned is that the only thing you can control is your attitude. You can't control your injury. You can't control your progress. The only thing you can control is your attitude. You can't let a setback upset your attitude. I still have goals to reach every day. I still can attack those goals with everything I have. My training may be different than usual, and it may be different than everybody else is doing, but is no less intense. In some ways it is even more intense and focused because I have a lot more to deal with right now.

I still spend time in the weight room and do all the lifts that I can as hard as I can. I also push myself on the exercise bike and on the stair stepper, or when I can do an exercise or drill on the mat. I can still visualize myself wrestling to the best of my ability, and I can still visualize myself perfectly mastering each technique I watch in practice. In my mind, I can still wrestle my best match every day.

I hope that you never have to deal with an injury that keeps you out of training and competition for a long period of time, but if it happens, realize that you can keep the same mentality while you are rehabbing. Don't beat yourself up with all the frustrations, instead force yourself to focus on the things you can do. Stay intense!

An injury really is just a situation in life and in sport where you can be confident that if it does not kill you, it will only make you stronger and mentally tougher. Good luck, aim high, and work hard!