Running out onto the field or court during a stoppage in play is an athletic trainer’s only time in the spotlight.
Beyond that, their domain is an athletic training room, and in the case of Sally Egan, who works at Shawano Community High School, a crowded room, between the boys and girls locker rooms, holding two training tables, an ice chest and a wall of cabinets, with boxes of materials situated everywhere.
“I’m here from even before the bell rings for after school and I’m here until the end of every practice or game,” Egan said.
Similarly, Chad Carter, Bonduel’s athletic trainer, splits his time between Gillett, Bonduel and Green Bay East. The schedule does not allow him to be at as many of Bonduel’s sport events, so he has to rely on coaches for taking the initiative to get the athletes prepared for practices and games.
The long days aren’t mundane for those in the profession, though. With injuries having different effects on each and every athlete, no two cases are the same, which makes the job challenging and rewarding.
“One of the greatest things about my job is my day is different every single day,” Carter said. “You never really know what is going to walk in through the door. … It could be something really huge; it could be nothing — you never know. So much of each day is original. Every single day is unpredictable.”
Originally the district’s only athletic trainer when she was hired in Shawano eight years ago, Egan was tasked to work with all middle school and high school athletes.
Now, with Elle Kosciuk working exclusively with Shawano Community Middle School students, Egan, who completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and graduate school at Eastern Michigan University, can focus more of her time on getting to know the high school students.
Building a relationship before an athlete suffers an injury is a major component of being an athletic trainer.
“You become attached to the kids, and you think of them as an extension of your own family,” Egan said. “All of these kids, I treat like my kids.”
Athletic trainers, first and foremost, work to prevent injuries, but when an injury occurs, they must evaluate it and eventually provide treatment.
“When I’m working, it’s usually someone’s really bad day, and you have to be that good listener and say, ‘OK. Here is what we are going to do. Here is our plan. Here’s how we’re going to get there,’” Carter said. “And help guide them through it. That’s a really rewarding experience, I think, for us.”
The severity of injuries has not changed much over the years, Egan said.
However, Egan said athletes, in general, are starting to show more overuse injuries because they begin specializing in a sport at a young age. In baseball and softball, shoulder and arm injuries are common; ankle injuries are the most common in basketball.
As part of her prevention work, Egan has created a sport-specific workout for the SCHS softball team.
“We want our kids to get a good jump off first base,” Shawano softball head coach Kevin Isaacson said. “So (Sally Egan) works on that quick-twitch type of movements. We want them to be able to move quickly side to side to be able to field ground balls or to be able to bend down and pick things up. She works to create exercises that mimic that movement, so the kids think they are exercising, and they are, but they are doing exercises that will be focused on making them better softball players.”
It is the type of work that athletic trainers enjoy most.
“I’m in the position to help people,” Egan said. “Anybody who go into any sort of health field, that’s why you do it. I like this job because being here on a daily basis, I get to know the kids and I get to see if what I am doing is helping. I like to get to see the outcomes.”
Aside from Shawano and Clintonville, area schools often share an athletic trainer, similar to Carter’s situation.
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