Shouldering the Setback
Scotland
rugby sevens star and Champions in Schools role model Scott Wight reflects on
coping with an injury setback and how he is making the most of his time on the
sidelines…
After a very successful February away with the Scotland
7s in New Zealand, where we finished fourth, and then Las Vegas, I had my sights
set on competing in Hong Kong and Japan in the early spring-time.
However I was having shoulder problems and was sent for a
scan – when I received the news no athlete wants to hear: I needed an operation.
It was a very hard decision for me whether to go for an
operation or go to Hong Kong in late March. For me Hong Kong is the biggest and best
tournament on the circuit and I have great memories from it last year when we
won the Bowl.
It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever in my
career – as I had the option of going to Hong Kong and playing through the
pain.
Finally, and with regret, I decided that it was in my
best interests to go for an operation and miss the rest of the season. Having
made the decision, it was really hard for me to get my head around not playing
again this year.
But the operation is over now – so the way I see it, this is
when the hard work starts. The scheduled
return for me to be back playing is in 5-6 months. This gives me a great opportunity to rehab my
shoulder and get back to full fitness.
But as well as recovering from my operation, I now have
the time to work on other aspects of my game – meaning when I return I am in a
better place than when I was before my operation.
The main thing for me through this rehab period is keeping
positive, focused on the goals that myself and my physio set, and making them
happen.
I have set myself the target of being fit for the start
of next season.
Scott Wight
