During the Biddeford High School girls varsity basketball game against Windham Friday night, a scary incident occurred when freshman guard Carissa Gelinas was seriously injured in the second quarter.

Gelinas stood up to take a charge and draw a foul against Windham early in the quarter. As she collided with the Windham player, she fell backwards and the back of her head bounced off the floor. She lay on the ground motionless for nearly 20 minutes as Biddeford’s trainer attended to her needs.

The school called Southern Maine Medical Center and paramedics arrived, later removing her from the gym on a stretcher. She got a concussion.

While the moment was scary, fans’ reactions and concerns were comforting.

The crowd respectfully sat in silence while Gelinas lay on the floor. About 200 people were in the stands, and none of them spoke loudly or disrespectfully. Early after Gelinas was injured, the crowd got a bit boisterous while discussing what had happened. Biddeford’s public address announcer asked that the crowd please quiet down. No one grumbled about the request. After all, it was the appropriate course of action.

Serious injuries are rare in basketball. Yes, they happen, but usually the player is removed from the court quickly after hurting a leg or jamming a finger. To see a player not get up after hitting her head is scary. According to Biddeford head coach Brian Heal, Gelinas didn’t remember what happened. One could tell that the crowd felt the concern. High school sports is great for allowing student athletes to compete. They are also great in teaching young athletes the lessons of hard work and teamwork. Sometimes, however, they transcend beyond the lessons of the court and allow these young athletes to learn something greater than just working hard. What Friday night showed, while Gelinas lay on the floor, was that compassion and understanding for the gravity of a situation is also important.

Gelinas is more than just an athlete. She is a child, a grandchild, a cousin and a sister. All of that flashed through the spectator’s mind while paramedics tended to her on the court.

The basketball game continued, and Biddeford eventually lost, but when Heal spoke after the game, his first comments were not about the score or the play. They were about Gelinas and how she is important to the team, and how her injury affected his players’ psyche. The Tigers were concerned, and the game’s outcome didn’t matter. The health of a teammate, however, was the only thing of importance.

The players are human, and their concerns were natural.

It’s nice to see that in this day and age of overpaid athletes, lockouts and scandals at the professional sporting level, that at the amateur level, the game and its instincts remain pure and in their proper places.

Winning is important, and building a successful team is usually the ultimate goal. On Friday night, however, everyone in the gymnasium at Biddeford High School understood the game was just a game, and there are more important aspects to life.

It was a refreshing change.

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Today’s editorial was written by Sports Editor Al Edwards on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via e-mail at kristenm@journaltribune.com.