Troy University Athletics
Tale of the Tape
7/31/2008 5:00:00 AM | General
THURSDAY, JULY 31
Today is Thursday...not Wednesday!
I am having a hard time keeping up with the days! Although it is only the second day of football practice, the Athletic Training staff and students have been hard at work since Saturday morning, which makes the days run together in a blur.
We have essentially been preparing for the first day of the fall season all summer. Now that we are back in the swing of things, work days for us are every day ? with no regard for holidays or weekends! We have been reporting at 8 a.m. and left here last night around 10 p.m. -- with only four hours of that being occupied by actual practice time on the field.
The other 10 hours were occupied with insurance paperwork, physicals, laundry, treatment, organization, more paperwork, more laundry, more treatment, taping, meals, and clean-up. Not bad for a day's work.
The Athletic Training staff is responsible for the health care of more than 400 student-athletes in 15 Division I intercollegiate sports. We have four full-time staff Certified Athletic Trainers and six Graduate Assistant Certified Athletic Trainers. In addition, we have Student Athletic Trainers that are learning how to become an Athletic Trainer with on-the-job training in our CAATE accredited Athletic Training Education Program.
The football crew this year consists of Chuck Ash, Head Athletic Trainer, me, a Graduate Assistant, and six Student Athletic Trainers. We work closely with our Team Physicians and Orthopedic Surgeons to provide the most comprehensive health care for our student-athletes.
Hopefully I can share with you a glimpse of the life of an athletic trainer: what it takes to become one and how not to loose your mind once you ARE one. It's a challenging career with a lot of responsibilities, especially at this level in intercollegiate athletics.
On a personal note, I am an Assistant Athletic Trainer here at Troy and have been around for 14 years in some form or fashion, although I don't feel that old. I was a student athletic trainer here, came back as a Graduate Assistant after becoming certified ? working Soccer, Rodeo, and Football ? and am now in my fifth season as a full-time Assistant.
I will be covering Football and Men's Basketball this year, which should keep me busy until about the end of March. I am married and have a daughter, both of whom are very patient with my hectic schedule!
I'm looking forward to a few road trips and hopefully a LOT of wins!
GO TROJANS!
Alyson Steed, MS, ATC
Assistant Athletic Trainer
