Troy University Athletics
The End Of Camp Is Near
8/10/2008 5:00:00 AM | General
Tale of the Tape
August 10
The End Of Camp Is Near
The days are slowing down around here and becoming less intense. I've had two nights of more than eight hours sleep, got to put on girl clothes and makeup to go to church this morning, and finished the book I've been working on for almost a month!
I took last week off jogging because I didn't have the energy to do anything extra, and will start back in that routine again tonight or tomorrow. With only two more days of ?camp' left, it seems the light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger and bigger. It must mean the end is near; at least of this phase of the game.
The scrimmage yesterday was fairly uneventful for the athletic training staff. It was a good ?dry-run' for our student athletic trainers to get used to the field set up and game situations, as well as work out the kinks in the labor intensive parts of game day happenings.
The home field set up becomes something you can do in your sleep by the second or third game (except carrying those big fans up the hill). It's the away game set up that makes things interesting from week-to-week, especially for those places where we've never played.
Thinking logically, on your feet, is a definite pre-requisite for this profession. The students in the Athletic Training program at Troy get a ton of valuable hands-on learning experiences in addition to their classroom education. That will carry them far in this profession ? I should know first hand since I'm a product of the program myself!
For those of you who don't know what a Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) is or does, let me share a brief description: when someone gets hurt during the games, we're the ones who run onto the field to evaluate the player's injuries and take them to the sideline.
There's nothing like a sweaty 300-plus pound offensive lineman leaning on your shoulder, hobbling off the field on a bum leg, especially as a female in this field. But, I'm strong and capable ? most of the time!
It doesn't stop there for the ATC. Once off the field, we evaluate the injury further to see if the injured athlete is able to return to the game. We are lucky to have physicians on the sidelines who help us with immediate needs, if there are any.
Sometimes, the athletes snap back quickly and can go back in with no problem. Sometimes, we can re-wrap the injury or put a brace on it and they can go back in with a little pain. Other times, they are unable to safely return to play and we keep them out.
From that point, rehabilitation of their injuries is necessary. That rehab process might begin immediately, with ice on the sideline, and can last many months, depending on the severity and nature of the injury. Surgeries are common but, in comparison to the amount of hitting the football players do day-in and day-out, it's a small percentage.
There's nothing more rewarding that seeing an athlete you've helped off the field and guided through rehab return to full competition. That's the measure of success of an athletic trainer, in my opinion.
I enjoyed the game day atmosphere of the sideline at the scrimmage yesterday and look forward to hearing the Sound of the South play the fight song as we march into the end zone many, many times of the upcoming months.
I look forward to seeing you all there!
GO TROJANS!
Alyson
