Ryan Kebler has been an athletic trainer since graduating from Valdosta State in 1996 and is now in his sixth season handling the job at Colquitt County.
Each season has been a little different, he said, as far as the injuries he has had to deal with.
“Some years it seems you have a lot of knee issues,” Kebler said at the Packers’ Wednesday practice as they tuned up for Friday’s Region 1-AAAAAA championship-deciding game at Camden County. “Some times it’s ankle issues. Sometimes, elbow issues.”
In recent years, he has seen severe knee injuries suffered by linebacker Brandon Key and kicker Luis Martinez.
This year, there have been no devastating injuries, but he has been kept busy dealing with ankle injuries suffered by Packers running backs.
Ty Lee has gone down twice, but twice has come back and last week rushed for 167 yards against Tift County.
Nate Powell went down against Valdosta and was held out against Tift County.
That gave Rafael Merritt a chance at some additional carries since his return from early season knee surgery. On his second carry against the Blue Devils, he broke loose on a 30-yard touchdown run, only to twist ankle as he crossed the goal line.
Kebler and Propst would certainly knock on wood and hope those are the worst injuries the Packer suffer this year.
If they are, good fortune obviously is at play. So is a conditioning program that began not long after the Georgia Dome clock counted down on the Packers Class AAAAAA state championship season.
“In January, the off-season starts,” Kebler said. “We’re working on recovery. In February and March, we start working on core strength and flexibility issues.
“We’re trying to get them ready so they can compete in November and December.”
Having a full-time athletic trainer is a must, Packers head coach Rush Propst said.
“And Ryan does the work of three people,” Propst said of Kebler. “He takes care of a lot of kids.”
Kebler does not just work with the football program.
He also can be seen near the Colquitt County locker room at home basketball games. He’s on the sidelines at soccer matches and not far from the mats at wrestling meets.
And he’s often in the dugout at Ike Aultman Field when the baseball Packers are playing at home.
“He does a great job,” Propst said. “And football takes so much of his time.”
Kebler was recommended to Propst by Brandon Sheppard, who was the athletic trainer at Hoover High for nine years.
After 10 years as the athletic trainer at St. Petersburg (Fla.) Catholic, Kebler joined Propst’s staff in 2010 in time to help take care of the Packers as they made their run to the state championship game.
He has been a big part of the team’s success in the years since.
Kebler and the Colquitt County athletic program have been aided the last several years by the Vereen Rehabilitation Center, which helps get athletes get back to competition in times that would have been unthinkable just a decade ago.
“This community has been very fortunate to have that facility,” Kebler said. “And for me, it has been a big asset.”
Dr. Scott Romanowski is Director of Rehabilitation Services for the Vereen Rehabilitation Center.
Britney Wetherington Mobley and Jaclyn Donovan of the Center’s Sports Medicine Program work closely with Colquitt County athletes as does Marcus Wells, who is on the sidelines on Friday nights to provide additional care.
Advances in technology have enabled Kebler and those working with him to continue to rehab athletes and get them back on the field or on the court quicker.
In recent years, more emphasis has been put on hydration and nutrition and on watching for possible concussions and their effects.
“We’ve been fortunate,” Kebler said. “You’ve also got to have some luck on your side.”
And Kebler has become even more valuable to the Colquitt County football program by joining Propst’s wife Stefnie and Director of Football Operations Earl Jefferson and handling many of the program’s logistical issues.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.moultrieobserver.com/sports/local_sports/kebler-helps-keep-packers-on-the-field/article_6a7c8c14-8372-11e5-99f1-b7cd0d326377.html