Lacrosse Standout Persists Through Injuries

Lacrosse Standout Persists Through Injuries

By Jerry McCormick

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Colin Dobbins is used to fighting for wins as a star lacrosse player for Cal State San Marcos.

But a few short months ago, the 22-year-old offensive midfielder was fighting to recover after a serious injury to his collarbone.

Dobbins was participating in a game near the end of the season last year when tragedy struck, in this case literally.

"Someone came and blindsided me. I had broken my clavicle, and it broke into three pieces," Dobbins said. "It was pretty gnarly."

Tim Puls, CSUSM's men's lacrosse head coach, said it was the second time Dobbins had been injured within a year.

"In the fall, he broke his collarbone in one of our fall scrimmages, and then he recovered from that," Puls said. "Then he broke his other collarbone, his left side, in the spring."

If you're not that familiar with lacrosse, Puls described it as "hockey on grass and turf. You've got some big boys in these leagues, and you're running around with sticks. It's pretty physical."

Despite the physicality and even after two injuries, Dobbins said he wasn't ready to give up. After all, he's been playing since he was about 4 or 5 years old.

But the path back to the field wasn't easy.

After his second injury, Dobbins was scheduled for surgery to repair his collarbone, but then, the day before the surgery, he started having breathing problems and lower back pain.

That's when doctors discovered blood clots in his lungs.

Because of the collarbone injury, blood began to slowly fill his lungs and then became clots, which collected in his lower lungs.

"If I had gone in, it's pretty scary to think about back then, it probably wouldn't have been good for me," Dobbins said.

After the surgery, he worked with a physical therapist, learning the basics.

"My rehab was grueling and not fun at all," he said. "I pretty much had to relearn how to use my arm, how to eat, drink, grabbing cups. It was a process."

But through it all, he knew he had to get back on the field and rejoin his team.

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His coach said that Dobbins is "like the heartbeat of our team."

"He takes this sport very seriously, and he wants to play at the highest level," Puls said.

He went on to say that Dobbins "does a great job of being a leader and he's a captain on our team and helps out the young guys."

Before he transferred to CSUSM, Dobbins was a player at Maryland's Stevenson University, an NCAA Division III school.

CSUSM's lacrosse team was founded in 2010 and is a Division II school in the Southwestern Lacrosse Conference.

The team went 16-2 this year, losing in the semifinals in the national playoffs.

It's this team and family that Dobbins credits for helping him stay positive in his recovery.

"I missed playing with my boys, my best friends," he said.

Puls, who is also Dobbins' stepfather, credits the team with helping Dobbins by keeping his spirits up.

"These guys supported him, they were calling and talking to him, guys were coming over to the house checking on him, making sure he was good physically and mentally," Puls said. "And soon as he was able to move around, he went out with the guys to get some shots and reps in."

Dobbins, who will be a senior in the fall, is a wildfire science management and urban interface major.

He said he wants to win a national championship and then focus on firefighting.

He also said his injuries taught him a valuable lesson.

"Luckily, the body is marvelous," he said. "I learned a lot through the process. The body will never let itself fail."

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