Sarah Dillon: From Setbacks to Comebacks

Sarah Dillon is a senior county star and ex-international basketball player, who will be joining us to continue our high-performance athlete series. With Sarah we will delve into her history with major injuries, how they affected her and how she overcame the fear of returning to sport. This is a key read for any athlete, or professional who works with athletes to gain a better insight into the psychological battle that is major injury.

Sarah Dillon – Intermediate Player’s Player of the Year, 2021

From the young age of 5, Sarah joined her local GAA club (Miltown Rathconrath) and under the watchful eye of her coach and father (Tom Dillon) developed a real talent for the game. At the age of 14, Sarah made her debut for her club senior team and since then has been a key part of their overall success: including five senior championship titles, an intermediate Leinster club title and an intermediate All Ireland title. But her success doesn’t end there!

At county level Sarah has played football the whole way up from u12 to senior, and was recently part of the team that claimed the All Ireland Intermediate title in Croke Park (2021). That same year, the Westmeath star won the Intermediate Player’s Player of the Year Award. As for her basketball career, Sarah won a national cup title with her club Liffey Celtics, and had the honour of wearing the green vest for the u16 and u18 teams. Oh, and just in case I forget to mention it…she’s only 22!

“Why does this keep happening to me”

From the outside looking in it is very easy to get caught up in the facts and figures and the success of an athlete. However, very few will see the hard work that goes on in the background, and the struggles that some athletes face when dealing with injury. Having picked up two ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries in quick succession of each other (2015 and 2016), followed by two separate shoulder reconstructions in 2019 and 2020, it is safe to say that these last eight years haven’t been smooth sailing.

Can you tell me more about your injuries to date?

In 2015, I did my first ACL. I was like 14 or 15 at the time and I was back playing competitively for about three months when I did my other ACL. And then in 2019, I had a lot of problems with my shoulder and had to get surgery done. My shoulder just kept popping in and out…I think I had 13 full subluxations. I had to get a total reconstruction. Funny enough then, I was back 3 months exactly, and I completely dislocated my other shoulder and had to get that one done.

What injury had the biggest impact on your life and why?

My shoulders definitely impacted me the most. Mentally it was the worst. Like just doing everyday things and moving, I was constantly afraid. I was constantly in fear it was going to come out at any given time. Twice my shoulder went out in my sleep, so for a while I had a constant fear of that happening again, which unfortunately then impacted my sleep. So, it was just draining in that sense.

How did you stay motivated during this time away from sport?

I have such a supportive family which is great! And even my club team are so supportive. So, the community I had around me at that time was brilliant.  I even got a personal trainer, Joey Cleary, who I still work with today. And just having someone like that to kind of push you along and be there so that you're not doing your rehab by yourself was great. Of course, there were other things that kept me motivated like playing county football and basketball for Ireland.

What was it like for you when you first returned to sport?

Building self confidence was a huge thing for me. I was so afraid to get hit, but once I made my first tackle I was fine. So, it was just about getting over that first hurdle. Now in saying that, it did take me four or five months to really feel confident in my shoulder again. There's always the fear that re-injury will happen, because the last time you played competitively was also the time you got injured. So, you always have that thought in the back of your mind. But you just have to have faith in yourself and have confidence in the work that you've done in the gym, because you have done all this hard work. It has to pay off.

What are your top tips for athletes that are going through injury?

1. Do not miss a single day: The tests don’t lie! Keep on top of your rehab and stay consistent. This is important for returning to sport and reducing the risk of re-injury.

2. Trust the process: Every day you are one step closer, so don’t lose faith and give up. There are other things that you can work on and improve when you are injured.

3. Build a network: Surround yourself with people that are motivating and positive. It might be a good idea to find a training partner or if you can, a personal trainer that you can do your rehab with.

4. Take it one day at a time: Ease yourself back into it, and only do what you feel comfortable doing. With time, you can gradually push the boundaries further and step out of your comfort zone.

A big thank you to Sarah for taking time to answer some questions and giving us an insight into what it was like to go through 4 major injuries and surgeries.

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