Q:  How many years have you been an athletic trainer?

A:  I have been certified for 15 years, and this is my thirteenth year at Lake Central. My first two years were at grad school. I worked with the track and cross country teams at Auburn University.

Q:  What type of education did you have to go through?

A:  Athletic training is a bachelor’s degree, and I went to Purdue. It is set up as a four year program at most major universities. After the four years, you have to take the certification examine.

Q:  When did you realize this is what you wanted to do?

A: [I realized I wanted to do this] In high school. I was fortunate enough, back in the 1990’s when athletic training wasn’t as popular, [to have] an athletic trainer at my high school. I got hurt, and that was when I was first introduced to her, and she led me down this path. That is how I got more interested in the career. The rest is history from there.

Q:  What time do you usually get here?

A:  Since I teach now, I’m usually here by 11 or 11:30 a.m. If I don’t have any teaching duties that day, then I’m usually here by 12 or 12:30 p.m., so I can get things ready before school gets out.

Q;  What do you do when a player gets hurt?

A:  First I try to access the injury to figure out what happened and what is going on. Then, I think ‘is it an emergency situation or is it something we can get back quickly’. After that, I go into problem solving mode to see how we can get him back, if we we can get him back, or if someone needs to go to the doctor.
Q:  Who do you advise to take the class you teach?

A:  People who think they are interested in some type of medical field or certainly athletic training and physical therapy. [Athletic training] is what the class gears towards.  

Q:  What do the “water” girls do?

A:  They do more than just get water for the players. They do first aid and help out with daily responsibilities.