As an athlete, there is nothing worse than the feeling of “the bench.” I’ve been there—standing on the sidelines with an ice pack, watching my replacement take my spot on the field. In high school, your sport feels like your whole life. We don’t hide our injuries because we’re brave; we do it because the pressure to stay in the game is often louder than the pain in our bodies.

The biggest reason we stay quiet is the fear of being replaced. We tell ourselves it’s “just a tweak” because we don’t want to give anyone else a chance to take our position. This isn’t just a feeling; research from Safe Kids Worldwide shows that 42% of youth athletes have hidden an injury just to keep playing. We feel like if we stop, we’re invisible.

There’s also a huge pressure to be “tough.” We see pros on TV playing through agony, and our coaches and teammates often praise the “grind.” According to the British Journal of Sports Medicine, this culture makes playing through pain feel normal. We don’t want to let the team down or look “weak,” so we ignore the warning signs.

The problem is that our 14-18  year-old brains aren’t great at thinking about the future. We want the win today, but we don’t realize that “walking it off” can lead to permanent damage. Nearly 54% of us have played while hurt, often turning a small strain into a season-ending disaster. We need to realize that taking a break isn’t quitting—it’s the only way to make sure we can keep playing the sports we love for years to come.

This feeling is common in high school athletes because the season is so short, the pressure of performing has been put on athletes for years to step into the shoes of graduated students. To all the athletes, remember to recovery when you can because it can make or break your physical and mental capacity.