Prep Review / Steve Scott : Chapon Hopes to Turn His Back on an Injury

Mount Carmel High School long jumper Jim Chapon has San Diego County’s leading mark at 23-5. But what’s even more impressive than such a leap in the season’s first week is the fact he is competing at all.

The 6-foot 4-inch senior suffered a season-ending injury one week into the 1984 football season. Chapon, a wide receiver for the Sundevils, was hit from behind while twisting for a pass across the middle at practice. The result was a recurrence of a serious back injury that limited his sophomore and junior football seasons.

“The problem is with my sciatic nerve,” Chapon said. “My vertebra pushes up against the nerve and pinches the nerve. It’s very painful. The pain from the sciatic nerve went all the way down my legs.

“I couldn’t walk for about a week or so. I couldn’t get up by myself.”

Chapon suffered a similar injury at the beginning of his sophomore football season at Hawaii.

“I did it jumping for a ball,” Chapon said. “I have poor flexibility in my hamstrings.”

The same back injury also ended his junior football season midway through the year.

“It all started because I grew too fast,” Chapon said. “I’m still going to therapy for flexibility.”

The back problems have not affected Chapon’s long jumping, however. The injury restricts lateral movement and twisting of his back. But Chapon said the long jump poses no problems because it is a straight ahead event.

Chapon discovered during his sophomore season that his back could not take the pounding of triple jumping. And despite high jumping 6-6 during practice as a junior, the twisting involved proved to be too dangerous.

Chapon’s track career also has been injury plagued. On Chapon’s final jump in last season’s San Diego Section finals, he overextended himself. The result was a 22-11 3/4 jump, fourth place and an injured right knee. He had arthroscopic knee surgery last summer. He was recovering from the knee injury when he reinjured his back playing football.