Every day after school the U-High Fitness center buzzes with student athletes — some training, some passing through, but most working on recovery. Whether through ice baths, stretching or just getting enough rest, caring for their bodies helps them stay in the game. U-High student athletes push themselves to excel, but they have also learned that recovery is just as important as training.
Trainer Hannah McCarrel plays a key role in this process, helping athletes recover and prevent injuries while encouraging them to prioritize healing. She noted that while students tend to favor feel-good treatments, like cupping, massage and warm compresses, she prefers cryotherapy, using ice to reduce pain and boost circulation. She added that many overlooked methods also help the healing process.
“Eating is a form of recovery. Sleeping is a reform of recovery, and sometimes even just taking a day to fully rest is a form of recovery,” Ms. McCarrel said. “Obviously, we want to play hard, and we want to compete, we want to do well, but if your body is telling you one thing and you’re feeling one thing, always say something right away.”
Ms. McCarrel noticed that even amid the pressures that U-High student athletes face, they frequently find time to take recovery seriously, especially after seeing its success.
“Rehab is like a job,” Hannah said. “It’s annoying, no one really loves to do rehab or recovery, but if you do it, you can also prevent yourself from getting injured down the road too. So, you’re kind of just covering all your bases.”
Varsity girls soccer captain Orly Eggner, dealing with persistent ankle issues, saw Hannah regularly and practiced toe exercises daily before practice when her injury was at its worst.
“This year, I’m obviously encouraging my teammates to do it a lot, but I’m not as good at doing it myself,” Orly said, “but I do think it’s important and it works if you stick with it. Especially last year, when I did it every day before practice, it definitely helped with strengthening my ankles and my achilles.”
When observing her teammates and other student athletes, Orly noticed that Hannah’s relationship with the students plays a large role in them prioritizing recovery.
“A lot of people like Hannah a lot, and so people go to see her more often than they used to see the personal trainer,” Orly said. “People are more willing to listen to her and more willing to work with her and care about their injury more, because she’s so nice.”
Ms. McCarrel’s connection with the students not only makes them seek her out, but it helps them trust her when she has to make tough calls about their injuries during games.
“Is it really bad? Will this get worse? Will I make them worse if they go in and play?” Ms. McCarrel said, “If any of that’s a yes, then, yeah, we’re not playing — which is like the hardest thing to tell someone is, like, you can’t go back.”
