Sophomore’s condition upgraded
JMU sports show support for recovering field hockey player
Posted on March 20, 2008
Just after 1 a.m. on Saturday, sophomore field hockey standout Meghan Bain was struck by a car on Neff Avenue, near the Sun Chase and Stonegate apartment complexes. She was airlifted to University of Virginia hospital in Charlottesville where she remained in surgical intensive care unit through Sunday.
She was initially listed in critical condition, although her status was upgraded to good Tuesday.
“We’re not quite sure of the extent of the injury,” JMU field hockey coach Antoinette Lucas said. “Every 12 hours something happens that kind of surprises us, but I can say she is doing very, very, very well.”
In 2006, womensfieldhockey.com awarded Bain the National Rookie of the Year award.
Bain was also named a Third Team All-American and was honored as the Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year.
As soon as news of the accident reached the JMU community, coaches and players of fellow JMU sports teams acted swiftly.
JMU football coach Mickey Matthews and his wife, Kay, visited Bain in the hospital. JMU Athletic Director Jeff Bourne did the same, according to Lucas. She also said Bourne had already been over to visit “a couple of times” by early Tuesday morning.
Softball coach Katie Flynn also gave Lucas a call on Monday to show her support as soon as she got word of the accident.
“I was just reaching out to say, ‘Hey, I’m sorry, and if there’s anything [the softball team] or I can do to help, let me know,’” Flynn said.
Swim and dive coach Samantha Smith’s team put together a card to send to Bain in the hospital to let her know that she was in their thoughts and had their support.
“When one of our teammates or athletes at JMU is struggling, regardless of what sport it is, it’s good to have support from fellow athletes,” Smith said. “So our girls just got a card put together and are sending it to her to show that support.”
The accident hit close to home for all athletics programs at JMU, as many think of themselves as one collective athletic group.
“We are one big family in athletics,” Flynn said. “At JMU we are all very close with our athletes and our athletes’ parents.”
