Countering finger and hand injuries

Injuries to fingers and hands played a role in disappointing defeats suffered by Prairie Grove in football, losing 52-12 at Harrison, and in volleyball, absorbing a sweep at Farmington Thursday.

Senior halfback Connor Hubbs missed the Pea Ridge game after sustaining a freak injury to his fingers during practice. He was back in the lineup on the road at Harrison, but clearly hampered by the injury, dropping a potential 44-yard touchdown pass the Tigers desperately needed in the waning seconds of the first half with Prairie Grove trailing 38-6.

Prairie Grove head volleyball coach Lindsey Biocic described the challenges the Lady Tigers faced on the road at No. 1 rival, Farmington (12-5, 6-3 4A-1), which won, 25-21, 25-23, 25-22, Thursday over Prairie Grove (11-4-1, 6-3 4A-1) to drop the Lady Tigers into fourth place in the league standings.

Prairie Grove wasn’t sure that prolific senior setter, Emma Kate Vertz, who recently went over 1,000 career assists, would even play.

“We faced a little adversity tonight. Vertz actually injured herself on Tuesday at Pea Ridge. We thought she broke her finger,” Biocic said.

For a team that runs its offense based upon Vertz’ capacity to distribute to various hitters, that’s tough, but there was good news.

Vertz had to go get an x-ray and the examination revealed a severe sprain so she could play. Vertz finished with 28 assists, quite a feat for a 3-set match.

“She was playing half the match with taped fingers and as a setter that’s very, very difficult. I still think she did a phenomenal job for playing with an almost broken finger. She stayed tough. Farmington just outplayed us tonight,” Biocic said.

Deuteronomy, chapter 33 (King James Version) records the blessing Moses proclaimed over each tribe of Israel before they crossed over the Jordan River into the Promised Land. He got very specific in verse 7, “And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies.”

That verse contains the provision of healing as a counter-agent to injuries sustained by key Prairie Grove athletes in recent weeks, and it’s important to realize that enemies don’t always have to be defined as people. Enemies to athletic performance might be fear, apprehension, doubt or worry that an individual won’t play up to their capacity. Invoking such a prayer addresses all of those things, while decreeing “let his hands be sufficient for him.”

That passage contains a cry that one’s prayer for healing be heard.

And there’s more.

Psalm 90:17 (King James Version) declares, “And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.”

What this means in sports comes down to asking for divine empowerment to play with grace, strength, timing and agility, in order for each athlete to effectively carry out their role, contributing to team success. Based upon the scripture, parents can pray that the work of their child’s hands be established in all facets of the game — blocking, tackling, snapping the ball, receiving the snap, handing off, passing, pitching the ball, receiving handoffs, pitches and passes, and defending those actions by shedding blocks, filling gaps, pursuing the ball, taking proper angles, batting down passes, intercepting passes and recovering fumbles.

Volleyball skills essential to success include serving and receiving serves, digging out hits, passing, setting, pounding kills and blocking, plus communication with coaches and teammates during the course of a match. Volleyball parents can pray that the work of their child’s hands be established in these facets of the game.

All of these athletic skills involve hands and fingers, so that’s another good promise to appropriate and pray over Tiger athletes and their handiwork when it comes to athletic competition.

Psalm 144: (King James Version), proclaims, “Blessed be the Lord my strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.”

Athletic competition plays out as a battle of wills, strength, speed and courage. Don’t try to tell the guys in the trenches that it’s not a war. For the offensive lineman to do his job, he must physically move a defender out of the way to open a hole for the ball carrier.

There’s hope for the Tigers and Lady Tigers by proclaiming a blessing over their hands. Invoking the blessing simply means parents empowering their children to prosper.

That’s a lot better than the alternative.