Few things are as devastating to a high school athlete as sustaining an injury their senior year. Despite suffering from knee injury that has left her warming the bench for the beginning stretch of her final season of softball, senior Heather McIntosh remains cheerful.

As I sit down to interview the varsity captain, she is incredibly accommodating: she answers all of my many questions thoroughly and with a smile. Since her freshman year, Heather has worn her red and white softball jersey with pride. “I started off on a swing on junior varsity. I got moved up to varsity in my freshman year, halfway through the season. I’ve been playing baseball since first grade. I started playing softball in fifth grade, when I moved to Hingham.”

Earlier this winter, Heather injured her knee. “I went on a snowboarding trip and was going down the mountain too fast. The board slipped and I fell.” Her tumble on the slopes resulted in a horrible bruise on her right knee, which would eventually was diagnosed as bursitis.

Bursitis is inflammation of the fluid-filled pads, called bursae, that act as cushions of the joints. “Basically, it’s fluid that’s in my knee from the bruise that’s not going through my leg,” Heather explains, cringing slightly. “I’m going to physical therapy right now. I go twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

On doctor’s orders, Heather cannot participate in the first month of softball. Her movements are restricted to aid in her recovery. “I can’t squat and I’m a catcher, which is terrible!” Heather says with a little laugh. “I can’t risk it getting hit either, so no sliding.”

Coach Steve Centerrino explained that the girls work “…five days a week, either practice or game, so if we aren’t having a game, we’re in practice. Typically we run for two, two and a half hours right after school. And if we’re lucky, we get to be on our field,”

Despite her limitations on the field, Heather dutifully attends every practice and game. “I throw. I do our routine warm up.” With a little sigh, she explains, “I just can’t participate in drills or bat.”

Heather says she stays involved with the team by managing the book. “In softball, we have this book that has records of each inning. I write how many balls each player got, how many strikes, where the ball was hit, and how they got out.”

Heather is arguably one of her team’s biggest supporters and seems to frequently take on the role of cheerleader as well as captain. Even though she can’t play, she stays active at practices and games. “I cheer people on, get them their bats when they need it ­ basically, I try to be involved as much I can to keep my mind off my injury.”

I quickly discover Heather truly exemplifies what it means to be a team player. Varsity softball coach Stephen Centerrino proudly says, “In general, Heather is a fantastic captain. She is is the two­-time recipient of the Patriot League Sportsmanship Award.”

According to the Official Patriot League website, the Sportsmanship Award is presented to student-­athletes “to recognize and honor those who demonstrate the values or respect and integrity through a specific action ideally directed towards an opponent.” Nominees are expected to continually demonstrate these values in their daily conduct with athletes from opposing teams. Additionally, recipients must have “good academic standing at the time of the award application.”

Still, despite her animated, bright answers, Heather honestly confesses that warming the bench is truly awful. She says sullenly, “It’s terrible! Not being able to help out the team is devastating. It’s affected my attitude towards everything, basically. I’ve been mad a lot.”

When I ask Coach Centerrino how the softball team handles injuries, he explains, “It’s a school-­based policy through the Athletic Department. We follow the concussion protocols and the return to play protocols.”

Heather says that Coach Centerrino has dealt with her injury and physical restrictions amazingly well. “He’s been very kind about it. He hasn’t been pushing me. He said that he’d rather me play at one hundred and ten percent for three fourths of the season, than give seventy­five percent the whole season.”

At the end of her junior year, Heather was elected to be one of the four varsity softball captains, and she takes her leadership role very seriously. She says she tries to fulfill the expectations of her job while out on injury. “You have to keep your team motivated. If someone’s feeling down, bring them back up. I want to be the positive energy on the team. You have to help players improve, give them tips, keep things organized.”

With the pride of a den mother, Heather says, “I cheer on my girls every day. If I see someone made an error in the game, I go out of my way to tell them it’s okay. I fight the umpires, too, if there’s a really bad call.” She laughs before recounting a few stories of times when she did, in fact, argue with an umpire over a call.

Heather’s love of softball will continue in college. “The college I’m attending is a D1 school, but I don’t want to play for the rest of my life, so I think I’ll play on a club team.” Heather plans to attend the University of New Hampshire in the fall. “My knee should be fine by then, but it’s really affected my balance, and that could continue for the rest of my life.”

As she approaches the end of her high school softball career, Heather says she feels surprisingly okay. She pauses to think before elaborating on her answer, “I’ve had a good run. I’ve met a lot of awesome people. I’m going to be sad about missing them, but I’m happy with the experience I’ve had.”

Still, softball’s season has just beginning, and the team is optimistic that they will have a successful run this year. Coach Centerrino tells me, “We had our home opener that we lost to Norwell on Friday, April 1, so it was a nice Fool’s Day.” He laughs before continuing, “The team looks good ­ really good defensive playing. We are struggling a little with batting.”

Whether in the game or on the bench, win or lose, I have no doubt Heather McIntosh will remain her team’s biggest cheerleader.