It can be easy to get a sports injury. Injuries are common in sports and caused by strain or overuse and most can be easily repaired by most moving the injury as little as possible.

Most of the more common injuries can be fixed with a cold compress and a few hours or days to feel, but not the Achilles tendon.

Kobe Caldwell, a junior guard and forward on the basketball team, tore his Achilles while playing a pickup game one day.

“I was playing in a pickup game back home and I was doing a basketball move and my leg gave out and I heard a pop,” Caldwell said. “I’m going through rehab right now, so I’m trying to get to play again.”

The Achilles tendon can take up to six months to heal properly with rehab and can easily tear again if not taken care of properly. But that is not stopping Caldwell from staying engaged with the basketball team.

“During practices, I’m still locked in, still getting involved with the guys and making sure that I’m paying attention to the schemes and all the different drills that we do,” he said.

Caldwell said that being on the sidelines and watching the practices shows a different side of basketball.

“I’m kind of seeing basketball games from a different perspective,” Caldwell said. “Instead of being on the court all the time, I’m kind of seeing like a coach, seeing the kinds of things that I can do when I get back.”

As such, he sees the upcoming games differently.

“The guys might have some questions like the new guys ask me questions about something they’re confused about and I’m just helping them with that,” Caldwell said.