Foo - Wife to play volleyball at community college = injury?

So, my wife is going to college. She's got the bright idea to join the volleyball team. She's 27 years old. She can't run more than a mile without feeling pain in one of her knees. The coach says it's possible they could give her a scholarship!? She hasn't played volleyball competitively since high school.

I'm not sure I understand what the deal is, and how the team/school would benefit from this.

Is this a recipe for injury or what!? Don't get me wrong, I'm excited and happy for her, but I'm not excited about how she's getting into something she doesn't know what she's getting into. With the additional time to practice with the team, her trying to find a job (will be part time), going to school full time, does suck that we won't be able to see eachother... I'm also concerned that she won't be able to focus on her studies.

Ugh... I just don't know what to think. Isn't college ball a bit more challenging/tougher than high school ball? Do volleyball players tend to get injuries easily? I really don't have the health insurance to support that.

They are probably trying to find a way to spend money on women's sports for title XI

She will need to practice with the team before they will let her play. She will know if her knee will hold up after a few practices, I would think.

It would be a bonus if she could get a scholarship - more money for you to spend on bikes! :)

If she played in HS and kept up with her studies, she should be able to do the same in college.

Volleyball isn't an injury-prone sport. Usually the only protective gear worn is kneepads for sliding. Nothing else, not even a mouth guard. If she played in high school she will remember what it takes to train/condition and what kinds of injuries to watch out for (there could be minor things like burns from sliding, bruises from getting hit, or maybe sprained ankles). She's going to have to move around a lot and not in the same direction/way the whole time so after a few practices she should know what it's like on her knee.

Let her be her own gal and play with the team. She'll find out soon enough if she can make it.
Ernest

Isn't college ball a bit more challenging/tougher than high school ball? Do volleyball players tend to get injuries easily? I really don't have the health insurance to support that.
This is community college ball, not division 1 university stuff...I imagine her high school ball was much more challenging that the community college version...?

Like others have said; let her trudge ahead as she wishes and she will figure it out quickly enough. You are her husband, not her dad, doctor, snotty teenager, etc... :)

She will need to practice with the team before they will let her play. She will know if her knee will hold up after a few practices...
If she played in HS and kept up with her studies, she should be able to do the same in college.

Cbad is right on. She'll have to practice with the team prior to playing for the team. Running =/= volleyball. Just because her knee bugs her after running does not mean she is going to have trouble with her knees after playing volleyball. And even if she does, it really is up to her how much she can tolerate to be able to play. I still play v-ball and am ready to get back into the gym this fall after having surgery on both of my knees. I'm a good number of years older than your wife and the aches, pains, bumps, bruises and floor burns are all worth it to still be playing a sport that I love.

She deserves the chance.

Man this makes me wish I could still play volleyball.

As far as injuries go, I wouldn't be too worried. If she makes the team, the college probably has some sort of playing/practice-injury only health insurance. Most colleges are required to carry that to cover things that happen in matches and official practices.

More to the point, she's going to have to adjust to rallypoint scoring, games to 25, liberos, let serves, legal net touches and doubles on first contact, most of which didn't exist in the high school game the last time she played (at least I think those are all new in the last 9 years). I'm not going to say community college ball is easier than high school like a former poster, but others are right in that volleyball is about short bursts of maximal effort, not running miles at a time.

Is it beach volleyball by any chance?
If so PICS!

They are probably trying to find a way to spend money on women's sports for title XI

My niece was a coxswain for the mens team at UCDavis for two years. The coach called her in one day and said "How would you like some money for college?". I don't know how much it was but it certainly helped.

Keep in mind that volleyball is no joke on the knees, but it should be pretty apparent after the first practice whether or not it's going to be a problem. ACL surgery isn't too invasive nowadays.... But yeah, you are her husband, and she's an adult. You can express your concern, but if you forbid her...well, let's put it this way, just don't.

27 years old and a second chance to be a college athlete and free tuition.....?
Tell her to suck it up with the pain issue and get the needle treatment in the knee.

It truly is amazing the money given to athletes nowadays in community colleges,D3,club sports if you have passing grades.

Heck,at the end of the season you get to see her again if it's in the cards.

It's a community college. The athletic standards and level of competition are a little... different. My sister is an athletic trainer for a CC and she tells a lot of stories about older athletes and such.

So let her do it.

The scholarship is probably for tuition & fees - which would probably replace her eligibility for your state's higher education grant for the same thing. If she didn't qualify for the state grant because of your income, then any athletic scholarship = good thing!

Big mistake if you impede her from pursuing something she really wants to.

Let's see... if she's 27, you're probably close to her age +/-... I think you should get off your bike. I mean, at your advanced age, injury is probable and you need to be working to bring home the bacon. Maybe she should just stay home and make babies or something.

Either get behind her and support her or get the hell out of her way!

Holy sh*t, I wasn't saying I wasn't standing behind her. I support her decision folks.

I was/am just concerned about injury. I built up to my mileage with the sport I do. I didn't jump right into it and ride a century, or run a marathon or anything like that. I built up to it. It's also going to take a toll on us regarding her working, going to school full time, team practice. That doesn't give us time for anything but studying when she's home... that's the part that sucks!!! I guess it's just a couple years though... oh well. The free tuition part will be nice, I've gotta admit that... it's just we, or at least I, don't get lucky like that very often, besides me just finding a great gal :)

Things will work out. Good that you care enough to be concerned, but she'll either end up in great shape, or decide it's too much. Would give you a good excuse to learn to become a good, amateur masseur. ;)

27 is young, jeez.

You have a choice in this marriage: be supportive, or don't. Little else matters.