Published: July 04, 2009 04:28 pm      

Getting back into the game

Former DHS standout Curtis Mulkey’s freshman season and campaign to contribute to OU’s track team will have to wait a year.

Mulkey suffered a catastrophic shoulder injury early in his freshman season that kept him in rehab most of the year until just recently.

“I felt something pop in my shoulder and my hand went numb,” Mulkey said. “I decided to let the coach know and they took me to the team doctor.

“I went in and had surgery in December and the doctor said it was probably the worst shoulder he had seen in someone my age.”

Mulkey said his shoulder first started bothering him in October but he didn’t think much of it. He thought he could work through the pain in hopes to contribute as a freshman.

Most of Mulkey’s freshman year was spent in the training room and in class. That aspect of his injury proved to be a little depressing, but also helping him to keep his grades up in order to stay eligible for next season.

“When I went to practice, I wouldn’t have much to do with my teammates because I couldn’t really do anything,” Mulkey said. “I felt like I wasn’t really part of the team, I was just trying to keep my grades up.”

Mulkey stated college athletics is much different than high school as all he had time to do was study, practice and sleep.

“It started out by going through offseason workouts,” he said, “about 20 hours a week with anything from lifting to running stairs.

“When I first got up there, it started getting a little tough. High school is nothing like college, college is a whole different world, all you do is practice. Three or four hours a day is concentrated on track. On top of that you have to go to school. Doing high school work and doing sports is nothing compared to college.”

Mulkey noted that it helps that he gets along with his coaches and he seems to be pleased on that front.

“My coaches are great,” he said. “The throws coach knows a lot about the throwing world, he has been in the Olympics before and so has his wife.”

Mulkey is currently training in Duncan for the remainder of the summer. He spends most of his time working out in the Simmons Center. If all goes according to plan, he hopes to make an impact on next year’s team.

“I’m hoping to go into next season a lot stronger and injury free,” he said. “I want to have a good season and get into the Big XII meet.”