An injured athlete stays on track by treating rehab like a new season: keep a daily schedule, follow the medical team’s plan exactly, stay connected to the team in whatever way is allowed, and use the extra hours for school or career goals. Motivation will dip; a steady routine and someone to check in with each week carry you through the days it is gone.
How to keep a routine during rehab
Injury takes away the schedule that organized your day. Rebuild one quickly, before drift sets in.
- Hold your wake time. Get up as if you had practice. It anchors everything else.
- Make rehab the new practice. Put appointments and home exercises on your calendar as fixed blocks, exactly as prescribed.
- Train what you are cleared to train. Ask your athletic trainer or physical therapist what you can do, and never do more than that.
- Keep sleep and meals regular. Follow your medical team’s guidance on nutrition and rest during healing.
- Track small wins. A simple log of rehab sessions and milestones shows progress on days when it feels like there is none.
How to stay connected to the team
One of the hardest parts of injury is feeling invisible. Staying connected helps you and your teammates.
- Ask your coach and athletic trainer which practices, film sessions, meetings or trips you can attend.
- Find a role: taking notes in film, helping younger players or handling small tasks that keep you in the room.
- Keep up friendships outside practice, at meals and on weekends.
- Be honest if being around the team is hard some days. Stepping back for a day is fine; disappearing for weeks makes coming back harder.
How to use the time for school or career
Injury often frees up hours that used to go to training and travel. Use some of them on purpose:
- Get ahead in classes. Catch up on anything missed and visit office hours while you have the time.
- Take one career step. An informational interview, a resume draft or a job shadow day. Our guide on student athlete career planning has ideas that fit any schedule.
- Learn something. A skill, a short course or a project you never had time for.
- Tighten your study habits. See study habits for college.
Keep these goals small and weekly. The aim is momentum, not a whole new life during rehab.
When motivation and mood dip
Frustration, impatience and boredom are normal parts of a long recovery. Lower your bar on hard days: do the rehab, do one other thing, rest. If you notice something heavier, like feeling hopeless, losing interest in things you used to enjoy, sleeping far more or less than usual or using alcohol or other substances to cope, talk to a licensed professional. Many athletic departments can connect athletes with counseling. In a crisis, call or text 988.
If the injury may end your playing career, our guides on athletic identity after sports and getting back on track after a health setback may help.
How a mentor works alongside the medical team
The medical team owns the rehab plan: the doctor, athletic trainer and physical therapist decide what you do and when. A mentor never gives medical advice, changes exercises or pushes a return timeline. What a mentor does:
- Helps you build and keep a daily schedule around rehab
- Checks in on whether you did the home exercises as prescribed, the same way they check in on any other goal
- Keeps school, career and life goals moving while you heal
- With your permission, shares progress with family and coordinates with professionals already involved
Where a mentor helps
Injury is when athletes most often lose structure, and when one steady person checking in matters most. See mentoring for student athletes, or, if your career is ending, mentoring for athletes after sports.
Related
- Time management for college athletes
- Who am I without my sport?
- Back on track after a health setback
- How to get motivated
- Accountability for Solo Founders
Common questions
How do I stay motivated during a long injury rehab?
Treat rehab like a season with a schedule, track small milestones and keep one or two other goals moving so your days have purpose beyond the injury.
Should I still go to practice when injured?
If your coach and athletic trainer say it is appropriate, attending some practices, meetings or film keeps you connected. Follow their guidance on what you can join.
Can a mentor help with my rehab?
Not with the rehab itself, which belongs to your medical team. A mentor helps with routine, follow-through and keeping school and career goals on track.
Is it normal to feel down after a sports injury?
Frustration and low moments are common. If low mood lasts for weeks or feels heavy, talk to a licensed professional.
Get started
Want help keeping your routine and goals steady while you heal? Call (888) 305 5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. A member of our team reviews every assessment personally and sets up a free intro call.