ARDMORE, Okla. (AP) — For the first time in a long time, Jacob Brecht's shoulder is close to feeling 100 percent.

The newly graduated senior at Plainview is prepping for an American Legion baseball game, enjoying every moment he has to play. After all, it wasn't long ago when Brecht had to walk around with a right shoulder that was practically useless.

"The tear was so bad that his shoulder was completely out of joint," Jacob's father, Kenny Brecht said. "It was chipping off chips of bone."

Brecht is one of many area high school students who battle through sports injuries every year.

High school offers a four-year window for teens to show their peers, parents and potential college destinations what they can do athletically. That window, however, can be narrowed to a sliver with a nagging injury, some of which can hamper kids into adulthood.

Brecht first injured his shoulder his sophomore year of football playing defensive line, but the final straw came two years later, this season against Sulphur.

"It was a pass play," Brecht said. "The quarterback was scrambling. I tried to hit him in the leg. I guess I hit him just right because my shoulder popped out.

"I could definitely tell there was something wrong after that. I kept playing but it was killing me."

Brecht suffered what is known as a Bankart lesion, or a dislocation of the shoulder, which can tear the labrum. Initially, he was told by doctors that if he exercised with elastic bands, his shoulder would strengthen over time, preventing surgery. But continual re-injury made his shoulder worse.

"His arm was still tight enough to where it wouldn't pop out," Brecht said. "Even after he got hurt his senior year, doctors still thought he could stretch it out, but we went to Oklahoma City and Dallas for second opinions.

"Both said he needed to get something done because it wasn't going to get any better."

Kenny Brecht sought the second and third opinions because that's what he did when he had his shoulder injury — the exact same one as his son. Kenny had surgery three years prior to Jacob's procedure on Dec. 29. According to Dennis Thompson, a certified athletic trainer at Excel Therapy in Ardmore, it's no surprise the two have the same injury.

"I take someone that has a family history and advise them to take a little more time to put a little more effort into their training," Thompson said. "I've had sisters where one will tear her ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) and years later another will. It's not true in all events but there's some high tendencies."

Brittany Marris, a cheerleader at Ardmore High School, shares the same torn knee ligament as her father, Ardmore athletic director Harold Brown. Marris tore her ACL and dislocated her patella in August when she was kneed from the inside on a stunt. Brown has torn his ACL twice, as recently as December.

"It was kind of a freak accident," Marris said. "He (Brown) kinda said that was one thing he didn't want me to inherit and I did.

"Doctors have said it can be hereditary," Brown said. "I hope my other daughters don't get it.

"As an athletic trainer, I say if he or she has had it, you're going to be predisposed," said Thompson, who works with the athletic training departments for four schools — Ardmore, Dickson, Lone Grove and Plainview.

Marris had her surgery on Sept. 12 and was out of activity until March 26. After three days a week of therapy for more than three months, Brecht returned to action on March 10 in time for Plainview's baseball season, but did so with a noticeable sidearm slinging motion when he threw.

"I had my range of motion back the first three weeks after surgery, but when I got back to first base, I couldn't throw as hard," Brecht said. "I had to work around it. I was about 60-70 percent, now I'm about 90."

Marris is back playing summer basketball for Ardmore after sitting out this winter. Unlike Marris, some players opt not to get surgery when it comes to ligament tears. Plainview catcher Aaron Chandler went an entire season behind the plate with an ACL tear suffered in football and surgery wasn't necessary. On the other hand, some injuries require immediate care and with rehabilitation, can actually bring the patient back stronger.

Lone Grove senior pitcher Derek Towler snapped his tibia in an ATV accident early in his junior year and returned to win conference MVP honors this season with a strong rehabilitation effort and work in the weight room.

Still, Brecht thinks about what his arm would be like had he went under the knife two years ago. In football this season, after his injury, he gutted out his remaining two games, playing exclusively on the offensive line.

Three small scars are indented into his shoulder — two in the front, one in the back. They appear no larger than cat scratches, but tell a greater tale of a possible family condition and a quick outpatient surgery delayed.

"I think about this all the time," Brecht said. "I always think that if I got it then, I could have gotten surgery then rehabbed it to be 100 percent my junior and senior years. At the time, the stretches were helping but I would tell anyone to get a second or third opinion."

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Information from: The Daily Ardmoreite, http://www.ardmoreite.com