Stephen Moss, a senior athletic trainer, uses ultrasound to warm up wrestler Brandon Mason’s arm before a workout. Moss and other trainers are studying athletic medicine, working with athletes from various sports here at OSU.
OSU’s athletic training program is looking for ways to fix its broken image.
Athletic training has roots dating back to ancient Greece, but the athletic training profession as it is known today is radically different. Gone are the days when trainers were known mainly for carrying water jugs and acting as team managers.
Today, certified athletic trainers are highly educated and unique health care providers who specialize in the prevention, assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and illnesses that occur to athletes and the physically active, according to OSU’s athletic training Web site.
“In the USA, the certified athletic trainer is an allied health care professional that is certified by the Board of Certification,” according to the OSU’s athletic training Web site. “Certified athletic trainers are also sometimes referred to as sports medicine practitioners or athletic therapists, and are the centerpiece of the sports medicine team.”
U.S. News & World Report ranks OSU as one of the most prominent athletic training programs.
OSU is one of five universities in this state that is nationally accredited, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Athletic trainers cover every sport on this campus from wrestling to equestrian making sure that the team is healthy and fit for performance, said Stephen Moss, an athletic training senior.
“Any certified trainer or student that has ever helped them (athletes) are a huge part in their injury management,” Moss said.
Forty-one students are in OSU’s athletic training program. This year, nine will graduate the program with a prestigious award.
Certified athletic trainers work in a wide range of areas. They are also highly involved in the day-to-day processes of professional, intercollegiate or high school athletics.
They are responsible for the preparation and maintenance of athletes that are poised for competition, Moss said.
“Many of the sports have runs and workouts at 6 and 7 a.m. weekly in order not to conflict with classes,” Moss said. “Most sports have two-a-days at least a couple times per week so that equals about 30 to 40 hours a week on average not counting game days, matches and occasional travel that can be an additional 12 to 24 (hours).”
March is National Athletic Training month and has NCAA basketball’s March Madness.
The program requires a lot of work, said Lane Lardson, a 2002 OSU athletic training program graduate.
“During the month of March, I worked more than 50 hours a week training,” Lardson said
Making all the right decisions for athletics and making sure they are fit is a part of athletic trainers’ jobs.
Athletic trainers are qualified in many health-related areas, including medicine and injury repair.
As incoming freshman, students can declare athletic training and get assigned to a sport and rotate to another one every four weeks, Moss said.
“You must fulfill 75 hours each semester of observation time and make above a 2.75 (GPA) and get good evals at your sports to be eligible to interview to get into the program,” Moss said, “The number of athletic training students my year has decreased from 15 my sophomore year to nine seniors now.”
All nine seniors cover a sport along with an already certified Athletic Trainer.
Athletic trainers are also the first on the scene in case of in-game emergency providing the best of medical treatment, Moss said.
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