Sometimes in bad situations good moments and good people arise. Saturday was Homecoming at Erskine. Everything was set-up for a great day. The weather was beautiful and our fall sports teams were performing well. Our volleyball team picked up two road wins, both cross country teams performed admirably at the USC-Aiken Invitational, and our men’s and women’s soccer teams were headed for conference wins, which by all counts would make for a perfect day. But with 26 minutes remaining in the Erskine-St. Andrews women’s soccer match, St. Andrews senior Marie Savage went to the ground screaming in pain as her body went one way and her ankle went another. It was a gruesome dislocation and probably one of the harshest injuries I have witnessed in sixteen years of NCAA Division II athletics. Any chance of a perfect day was out the window as all in attendance watched this young student-athlete suffer. But like I said, sometimes in bad situations good moments arise.
Almost before Marie had hit the Huggins Field turf, our head athletic trainer Adam Weyer was by her side. The severity of the injury was clear to even my untrained eye so there was no question Adam realized before anyone the extent of what had happened. Immediately after Adam reached the scene, St. Andrews head men’s coach Stevan Hernandez was kneeling to comfort Marie. As Adam worked on her ankle, Coach Hernandez, a long-time friend of mine, did a remarkable job of calming her despite the immense pain. Stevan’s quick response to the situation caught me off-guard especially since he was mentally already preparing for the upcoming men’s game. An ambulance was immediately called to the scene. As the ambulance came on to Huggins Field the Erskine women’s soccer team walked down to the St. Andrews bench and both teams walked together to the entrance gate where the ambulance would exit. The two teams faced each other in line in preparation to cheer for their fallen comrade as she left the field. While the EMTs’ care for Marie on the field delayed the ambulance exit, the two teams came together, formed a circle and prayed. It was one of those moments where you don’t have to be an athletic director to be proud. There were goose bumps a plenty among spectators as well. It was a genuine act by both teams, not prompted by anyone but the players themselves. As Marie was finally escorted away to Self Regional Hospital (where hours later she was released and returned home on the St. Andrews bus) the two teams circled around their coaches. I listened as Erskine coach Gary Winchester told his players how proud he was of their actions. “I may yell and scream at your play, but you are first-class all the way in my book,” stated Winchester. Meanwhile St. Andrews coach Rohan Naraine assembled his troops asking if they wished to continue play. Seconds passed and the Knights emerged ready to continue. It was impressive resolve on St. Andrews part to play on after what had just happened to their teammate, and no one would have blamed them for calling it an afternoon.
At that point the final score had no significance. Players from both teams will shortly forget the final score of the match but both teams’ actions will long be remembered. We pray for Marie Savage to have a full recovery from her serious injury and hope her surgery goes well. But for a moment Saturday her injury allowed all of us in attendance to see that sometimes bad situations can bring out the best in people.
Almost before Marie had hit the Huggins Field turf, our head athletic trainer Adam Weyer was by her side. The severity of the injury was clear to even my untrained eye so there was no question Adam realized before anyone the extent of what had happened. Immediately after Adam reached the scene, St. Andrews head men’s coach Stevan Hernandez was kneeling to comfort Marie. As Adam worked on her ankle, Coach Hernandez, a long-time friend of mine, did a remarkable job of calming her despite the immense pain. Stevan’s quick response to the situation caught me off-guard especially since he was mentally already preparing for the upcoming men’s game. An ambulance was immediately called to the scene. As the ambulance came on to Huggins Field the Erskine women’s soccer team walked down to the St. Andrews bench and both teams walked together to the entrance gate where the ambulance would exit. The two teams faced each other in line in preparation to cheer for their fallen comrade as she left the field. While the EMTs’ care for Marie on the field delayed the ambulance exit, the two teams came together, formed a circle and prayed. It was one of those moments where you don’t have to be an athletic director to be proud. There were goose bumps a plenty among spectators as well. It was a genuine act by both teams, not prompted by anyone but the players themselves. As Marie was finally escorted away to Self Regional Hospital (where hours later she was released and returned home on the St. Andrews bus) the two teams circled around their coaches. I listened as Erskine coach Gary Winchester told his players how proud he was of their actions. “I may yell and scream at your play, but you are first-class all the way in my book,” stated Winchester. Meanwhile St. Andrews coach Rohan Naraine assembled his troops asking if they wished to continue play. Seconds passed and the Knights emerged ready to continue. It was impressive resolve on St. Andrews part to play on after what had just happened to their teammate, and no one would have blamed them for calling it an afternoon.
At that point the final score had no significance. Players from both teams will shortly forget the final score of the match but both teams’ actions will long be remembered. We pray for Marie Savage to have a full recovery from her serious injury and hope her surgery goes well. But for a moment Saturday her injury allowed all of us in attendance to see that sometimes bad situations can bring out the best in people.
