A Quick Glance at Student Athletic Training

Jessica Titus, Kristie Corney, Ashley Corney, Tyler Schlosser, Kait Crawford, Erica Heidinger, Sharon Dirksen

Student athletic trainers at Bluffton University help to keep Bluffton athletes on their feet by assisting the certified athletic trainers at practices, games and in the athletic training room to prevent them from becoming overwhelmed and stressed.

A common first thought of athletic training is a picture of the person who runs out onto the field or court when an athlete goes down; however, there is much more to training than that. Tyler Schlosser, head athletic trainer at Bluffton University, and his assistant, Kim Ricker, do the best that they can to ensure top rate care to Beaver athletes. Tyler and Kim help the injured athletes by setting up rehabilitation programs and performing stem treatment and ultrasounds (which are basically electric therapy). While those are the things only the certified trainers can do, the rest of the BU training crew can treat sprains, give out ice, prepare ice baths, treat blisters, tape various body parts (such as ankles, wrists and fingers) for extra support, give out heating pads, provide basic first-aid and perform CPR. They also encourage injured athletes on their journey back to recovery.

Tyler and Kim are the certified athletic trainers (also known as ATCs) but they currently have thirteen student athletic trainers working for them. Jana Teague is a graduate assistant trainer, Jake North is a master’s student assistant and the Bluffton University students include: Ashley Corney, Annalee Kaplan, Chris Malkowski, Kait Crawford, Erica Heidinger, Robin Wilson, Peter Kidwell, Kristie Corney, Jessica Titus, Sharon Dirksen and Estee Arend. These students run errands, clean the training room, act as watergirls/boys, and keep an eye out for injuries during athletic practices. This many trainers may seem like a bad idea because it can lead to tension or miscommunication but it is necessary for a large group in order to better provide for the athletes.

The students and ATCs arrive when the athletes do in August and stay till the final ball is thrown in May. With the exception of track and cross-country, there is a student athletic trainer at every athletic practice and event. The student athletic trainers will be there for the athletes through rain, sunshine or snow.

It is vital for the student athletic trainers to be at the practices and games because the ATCs cannot be everywhere at once. Since there are so many student athletic trainers, this ensures that there can always be (at minimal) a graduate student or ATC in the training room at all times during practice hours. “It can get chaotic in the training room, especially if all of the trainers are in there at once but when it comes time for practice, it’s obvious how necessary a large number of trainers is,” said Sharon Dirksen, sophomore student athletic trainer.

Student athletic training is important at Bluffton because not only do they help the athletes, they help keep friends and family members safe and feeling in top shape after an injury. The students take care of the small things so that the ATCs can focus on the large injuries and not become overwhelmed and lack in performance. By hiring student athletic trainers, Bluffton University is providing an extra layer of security and care for its student athletes now and in the future.

Tension in the Air

Kristie Corney and Jessica Titus demonstrating a tense moment

The athletic training staff at Bluffton University is normally one happy family. However, there are times when tension arises and puts everyone involved on edge.

This past fall is a wonderful example of how tension can arise in the training room, according to Kait Crawford, head student athletic trainer for the year 2010. One of the girls who was a football trainer never did her share of the work. “Everytime we turned around she was flirting with a player or throwing a hissy fit because she’s so moody. Very rarely did we ever see her tape or do any other trainer duty,” explained Crawford.

This caused a lot of problems on the football student training staff. The other girls did not like putting up with the mood swings and lack of work but didn’t know how to handle it. Senior student athletic trainer Ashley Corney would sit the girls down in a group and make a general announcement about attitude and contribution but it never hit home with the one it needed to and that frustrated the girls. Firing her was talked about but ultimately voted down due to outside circumstances that would create bad situations for a few of the trainers.

Poor communication is often a source of tension among the trainers, especially on game days. If a student trainer misunderstands the head athletic trainers, things can get tense. The added stress of game day just puts everyone on edge. “Tyler and Kim are normally great with misunderstandings but game day brings out the worst in all of us,” stated Crawford. Usually once the situation is resolved, it is forgotten about but it’s the awkward tension of messing up that gets to the trainers.

“We don’t always get along but that’s the beauty of our little mismatched family. We love and accept each other through everything,” said Crawford.

Athletic Training in the Bluffton Picture

The football training staff showing how happy they are to reach out into the community.

Student athletic trainers are a small group of people but together they reach a large part of the Bluffton University community through their outreach in training and their daily lives and activities.

Student athletic trainers interact with the student athletes on a daily basis. They form friendships with the players during practice and also with the injured players in the training room. The trainers know that their job is to do their best to keep the athletes safe during practice so that they can perform and represent Bluffton University during their games. Not only do they keep athletes healthy so they can entertain the greater Bluffton University community, but the student athletic trainers do it because they care about protecting their friends, neighbors and classmates. “We genuinely care about the athletes we work with. When they win, we win; when they lose, we lose and when they hurt, we try to make them feel better because we don’t like seeing our friends in pain,” said Sharon Dirksen, sophomore athletic trainer.

The student athletic trainers come from all different areas of the campus. No two trainers have the same major. This means that, collectively, the students represent almost every organization and major degree program on campus – with the exception of music and family and consumer sciences. Some of the trainers are former Bluffton University athletes and almost all of them participate in intramural sports. A handful of the trainers also have other campus jobs including intramural sports staff, Bob’s place, tutoring, First Year Seminar mentoring, working for WBWH radio and Resident Advising. Marbeck Center Board and Student Senate also have representatives who student athletic train.

“Training has been a great way to meet new people and to form friendships with people I may not have spent any time with before. It’s great to be involved with so many different people,” said Dirksen.

Surprise! The Work Has Just Begun

When an athlete becomes injured, it always comes as a surprise which results in a feeling of shock – especially if the injury is serious. This is common among athletes who have to get treatment done in the athletic training room at Bluffton University.

The injured athlete also tends to be shocked when they learn of all the different exercises and therapy they have to go through to get better. The athletic trainers do their best to appease these feelings. “Most of the athletes who come through the training room really struggle with their injury and how it affects their season. We [student athletic trainers] do our best to help them deal with their injuries and the pain of rehabilitation,” said Kait Crawford, head student athletic trainer for the year 2010.

It takes a lot of hard work on the part of the athlete and the athletic trainers to get the athlete back into performance mode and that is something else a lot of athletes deal with. “It’s not uncommon to see an athlete in the training room months after their injury or season has ended because keeping them [injured athletes] in rehabilitation prevents the injury from reoccurring,” said Crawford.

Keeep Quiet - It's the Law

The athletic trainers at Bluffton University must be well informed of legal and ethical issues that can arise with injured athletes or they can risk losing their jobs.

As both the certified athletic trainers and student trainers deal with medical records of the athletes, they must know what information can and cannot be discussed. A lot of information concerning an athlete’s medical history is listed on the medical forms and the physicals the athletes are required to turn in. The trainers are not legally allowed to discuss these matters with anyone who is not involve with the treatment of the athlete.

The athletic trainers are bound to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) laws meaning that they cannot release medical information to anyone other than the injured athlete. “There have been times that parents have come up to me and asked about their child’s injuries and treatment and I have had to either send them to Tyler or Kim (the certified athletic trainers) because I cannot personally inform them of anything due to the HIPAA laws,” said Ashley Corney, senior head athletic trainer for the year 2009.

While discussing an athlete’s injury and treatment is illegal, the trainers know that talking about the happenings in the training room is unethical. Discussing struggles, concerns, or even simply a conversation that takes place in the training room is seriously frowned upon. The training room has a sign hanging up that says “What happens here, said here, saw here, stays here” to remind that trainers of this ethical code.

“Even though we trainers are a tight-knit group, we aren’t allowed to discuss an athlete’s personal medical details with one another. We know doing so is not only illegal, but unethical because we wouldn’t want our personal problems talked about either,” said Corney.

Bluffton University Athletic Training Looks Towards Strong Future

The construction of the new locker room will help out the athletic trainers

The future outlook for Bluffton University athletic training looks very bright due to a young, energized staff that has a passion for athletic training and the promise of a new recreation center that will be a tremendous help to the trainers.

The head athletic trainer Tyler Schlosser and assistant athletic trainer Kim Ricker, both still in their twenties, are both passionate about their jobs. This means that they plan to stay at Bluffton and work with Beaver athletes for many years. “Bluffton is a great place to work. The coaches are very cooperative in that what we tell them about an athlete goes. Very rarely do they try to argue with our judgment which makes for a great work environment,” said Schlosser. With the stability of a permanent staff, this also ensures the jobs of student athletic trainers. Both Schlosser and Ricker depend heavily on their student assistants and help out in the process of replacing graduating students.

The new recreation center has yet to undergo construction but when it is built, it will be an enormous help to Bluffton training. The new center will provide the trainers with a completely new training room and rehabilitation center which will be an asset in providing the athletes with the best care Bluffton University can provide.

A Glance at the Past of Athletic Training at Bluffton University

Very little has changed in the 40+ years of the training room.

For more than forty years, injured athletes at Bluffton University have been walking to the lower level of Burcky Addition to find an athletic trainer to receive treatment for their injuries.

Athletic training was started in Bluffton based on need. Bluffton University recognized how crucial it is for an athlete to receive treatment as soon as he or she is injured in order to prevent the risk of further worsening the injury due to excess time before treatment. Student athletic training was added over a decade later as the head trainer realized the need for assistants to do simple tasks to make his job easier.

In recent history, the current head athletic trainer certified is Tyler Schlosser and he has been with Bluffton for a little over two years. Before Schlosser, current Bluffton University athletic director Phill Talavinia served as the head athletic trainer for 18 years.

The athletic training room and rehabilitation center have been in the lower level of Burcky Addition since athletic training formally started. A new recreation center is in the works that will ultimately move the athletic training facilities into the new building. However, the date on this project is yet to be determined.