Athletic Training in nontraditional setting

Well I figure that everyone else has posted on the YPC blog. So now its my turn. As some of us start to wrap up with football its important to think about all of the other avenues that athletic trainers work in.

I started out as an assistant at a private university here in Houston. I left to become an intern with the Houston Texans. After that I became a Head, and only, trainer at a small junior college. During that time I was also an assistant with the Houston Ballet. I never would have thought about dancers needing the services that can be provided by an athletic trainer. Like baseball, swimming, or tennis, dance has many of the same overuse injuries that other sports do.

My first night working with them my counter part and I were sent to watch a performance that was being put on by summer intensive students. The summer intensive is like their version of a camp. It is just six weeks long 8 hours a day and six days a week. This group of students came from all over the world China, Japan, Australia, Finland, Canada and Mexico. One young man got ready to do his solo performance and began. In the middle of it he jumped in the air and landed. When he landed he didn’t get back up. Being my first night I was not sure what to do. As I started to walk out on to the stage, the stage manager pulled me back and said wait. The young man had to crawl off the stage to me. After a few special test it seemed clear that he had torn his ACL. He went to the doctor and it was confirmed. He did tear it. Trying to talk to a frantic mother in another country was a very interesting experience for me. The young man made a full recovery and is currently at National Ballet in Canada.

The longer I spend working with ballet dancers the more I realize that there are similarities between dancers and other athletes. As everyone else begins to wrap up with football we are getting ready for our big season. 36 shows of The Nutcracker in 30 days. The life skills that are learned in the field of athletic training can take you places you never knew about.

As some of you know I work part time with the ballet. My full time job is an administrative position with Cy Fair ISD. I am the districts Athletic & Aquatic Safety Coordinator. It has been an interesting experience going from being a full time athletic trainer to being a full time administrator. Much of my time is spent looking over and reviewing policies. I also over see the districts 11 competitive pools, schedule lifeguards, and EMT’s. I also work very closely with our districts athletic trainers as well as some of our other safety departments. I communicate with our districts Security Department and our Health Services Department. I also conduct critical incident stress debriefings when we have athletic related catastrophic injures, which at times has been difficult for me. I have learned that no matter how much classroom training we get when we, as athletic trainers, are put in certain situations it is difficult for us when we are helpless. With any newly created job people will have to be open to change. This includes the person whose job has just been created. I look at everyday as a learning experience. This job has taught me so much, and yet everyday there is something more to learn.

I have been very fortunate that I have had some of the experiences that have had. They have led me to a great job and even better people. I work with some of the most well respected athletic trainers in the field. As a Young Professional I could not find myself in a better place to learn.

Best of luck to those in playoffs,
Anthony