Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Thirty million children participate in organized sports each year, and more than 3 million suffer injuries, according to Grace Christian Academy (GCA) junior and 4-H member Sybil Lee.

Lee told that fact as part of a presentation on sports-related injuries that she gave to the Bainbridge Rotary Club. She and her sidekick Herbet, a model skeleton, educated the room on three common athletic injuries: shin splints, knee ligament tears, and concussions.

“Injuries are a real part of sports,” Lee said in her presentation. “It’s always important to know the risks that you’re taking, even if you’re just playing soccer in PE.”

Lee explained what each injury was, showed where they occur on the body — thanks, Herbert — and gave preventative measures athletes can take to avoid these ailments in her presentation.

Lee created the presentation as a part of 4-H Project Achievement. Project Achievement is a 4-H competition to develop members’ public speaking skills. Members create a presentation ranging from 5-12 minutes, depending on their age, about a chosen research topic.

“Project Achievement is the public speaking component of 4-H,” said Lindsey Hayes, the Decatur County 4-H Coordinator. “It helps 4-H’ers to develop both oral and written communication skills, while giving them an opportunity to investigate or research a topic of their interest.

Lee chose sports injuries for her topic, and, outside of her research on the presentation, she knows of these injuries through her own experience as an athlete. She served as a captain of the 2023 state runners-up GCA Volleyball team and ran on the cross country team.

She and 10 other 4-H’ers will travel to Putnam County this weekend to compete in the district-level Project Achievement contest. Winners at the district level will move on to the state contest and get the opportunity to be invited to the 4-H National Congress, a five-day event that engages high school-aged 4-H members from across the country in leadership, citizenship, global awareness, and inclusion.