Headed to the IR

We won't know for certain, likely sometime tomorrow morning, but it looks like Colin's hockey season is over. It appears he sustained a broken clavicle (collarbone) last night after getting run by one of his teammates (the team's captain) during his Brandon Jr. Bulls Peewee A practice.

Though I'm just a journalist, the X-rays don't look good. It's doesn't appear to be a clean break, so he'll likely need more than four to six weeks of immobilization for it to heal correctly. We'll get a better idea of what he'll need, and just how many weeks he'll miss, once we meet with a pediatric orthopedist tomorrow.

For him, it couldn't come at a worse time. He was supposed to play in the Statewide Amateur Hockey of Florida championship tournament down in Ellenton this weekend. Now, he can only watch. Beyond that, he won't be able to play for the Pinellas P.A.L. Stars for the rest of the Tampa Bay Metro League recreational season.

In hockey speak, he's "doubtful" for up to the next 10 weeks with an "upper body injury."

I must say, too, just how impressed I was for the toughness he showed after getting drilled by a kid who's about 5 to 6 inches taller and at least 45 to 50 pounds heavier than Colin. He picked himself up, had to be called off the ice and, after catching his breath in the locker room, went back out to participate in drills.

After a few drills, though, it was apparent that he wasn't up to full speed. I had him come off again and took him into the locker room. He never yelped as I poked and prodded his shoulder, and had him go through range-of-motion activities. When I told him he was done for the night, he said he wanted to finish practice.

"I want to send a message," he told me.

Thinking it was just a bruise, I relented. It wasn't until this morning, at school, that the pain became too much. Last night, he ranked the pain at a 4 out of 10. This morning, after taking off a heavy backpack, he rated the pain considerably higher and had the school call me.

You know, a lot of kids think they're tough. But, really, they're not. If they get their kicks hurting or picking on kids smaller than them, and they've shown a pattern of doing this, toughness really isn't the attribute that comes to mind. Not. Even. Close.

Luckily, I know one kid who's tough. I also know he'll be back. He's a kid to be proud of.