Caroline Lubinsky-
The road to recovery after a major sports injury is not an easy one, and Beau Myers and Kass
Alvarez can certainly attest to that.
Beau Myers is a current redshirt sophomore on the baseball team at Appalachian. Kass Alvarez
is a former women’s soccer player for the university.
Beau’s true sophomore year started off as a rough one. In September of 2016, he said he felt
“the ligament in his arm snap” and knew he needed surgery as soon as it happened.
However, the results that confirmed Myers’ suspicions took multiple MRI’s to figure out. This
included making a trip down to Charlotte to use a MRI machine that could look more in depth
at the ligament.
After Tommy John surgery that occurred in October, Beau began his recovery.
“It felt like I was doing rehab 8 days a week,” Myers said with a grimace.
Rehab was a grueling process that included the athletic trainer, Christina Biddle, stretching his
arm until it became straight again every day.
Beau feels lucky to have gotten back on the field playing the game he loves.
“I thought it might be the end of my career since it’s the worst injury possible in baseball,”
Myers said in an interview.
He’s not alone. Kass Alvarez experienced the same doubt after tearing her ACL her sophomore
year of high school. She worried her playing days were over.
She remembers running for the ball during a defensive drill. Alvarez says that her cleat got stuck in the turf and she heard a loud pop in her knee.
“The doctor informed me about 4 days later that I had torn my ACL. I definitely remember
thinking that it was the end of my soccer career,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez wanted the best possible surgeon to repair her ACL so she could play again, so her
father called the Mexican National team doctor.
Dr. Rafael Ortega was in Guadalajara, Mexico, so Alvarez and her father made the trip down to
Mexico where her family is originally from.
Recovery began a few weeks after surgery. Alvarez remembers three-day- a-week sessions with an athletic trainer to work on getting the range of motion and strength back. She also did work on her own every day.
Director of athletic training at Appalachian, Jon Mitchell spoke about the effect of getting
seriously injured in high school.
“Durability is a challenge overall right now. By the time athletes get to college, their bodies
have already been broken down,” Mitchell said.
This was the case for Alvarez, as she was seriously injured in high school and went on to play
college soccer.
Alvarez was however, back on the field 6 months post-surgery. She opted not to wear a brace
when she came back.
“I feel that not having the brace made me feel more comfortable and not like I had just come
back from an injury,” Alvarez explained of her decision.
Unfortunately, after a serious injury it is common to continue rehab long after an athlete is
back on the field.
“I am 15 months out from surgery and I’m still doing rehab…if that tells you anything,” Myers
said of his elbow.
The recovery process is never truly over.