Chillin’ With the Captain
Sitting down, relaxing and doing nothing is not in Tracey Kelusky’s nature. Roughnecks coach Troy Cordingley jokes that he knows it’s game time when he hears the captain talking a mile a minute. But slowing down is exactly what Kelusky needs to do for the time being if he knows what’s good for him, and after a meeting with a specialist this week, he does.
Kelusky’s comeback from a game one concussion has been agonizingly slow, due in part, he admits, to trying to push things a week after the initial ding when he wasn’t sure he was really hurt. Now, it’s time to kick back, relax, and let time take care of things.
Kelusky has been trying to do what he can to work through the injury, but earlier this week he told me that even demonstrating basic skills and drills at his day job teaching lacrosse at NSD has been triggering symptoms like headaches and dizziness.
Concussions suck. You’ll go a day or two feeling like a million bucks, try to do something physical to test where you’re at, and wind up setting yourself back.
After a chat with the doc, Kelusky says he’s accepted the fact that, however hard it is to do, doing nothing is best course of action. Slowing down at work and letting the players run through drills, and in general just taking life easy until he’s over this thing is the way to go.
Tracey was upbeat when I talked to him. The doctor is confident that he’ll be back at some point this season, although when that will be is anyone’s guess. His teammates, his employers, and the Roughnecks have all been very supportive, because needless to say, this is a guy everyone wants back in the lneup. This is a guy who needs and deserves the support and understanding of the team as he deals with the first significant injury of his NLL career. Take a look at Kelusky’s stats, and you’ll see he’s never missed more than three games in a season.
Look after that melon, Trace, you want it to be healthy when the upcoming addition to the Kelusky family wants to drop Tonka trucks on it in a few years!