Athletic trainers often have the best view in the house from the sidelines during games, but none of them are taking it for granted. When the anticipated time comes to spring into action, trainers are always ready.
So when all the athletes are upright and healthy, what goes into the mind of an athletic trainer waiting for his/her moment to step onto the field and tend to someone in need?
For veteran Jackson High School trainer Rick Neitzelt, it’s all about staying in the moment and always being prepared.
“When I go to whatever event I’m covering, instead of just watching the ball, I’m watching what else is going on,” Neitzelt said. “I don’t just look at the game for the game, I look at it as making sure everyone stays healthy.”
Neitzelt says he knows he watches sporting events differently than any other regular fan. He has to in order to do his job productively. While “95 percent of my job is sitting”, sooner or later the moment comes when he’s needed by an athlete.
That type of perspective is something Neitzelt hopes he can show to his athletic training students at Jackson. On top of being the friendly face at nearly all Polar Bear sporting events, he also instructs the athletic training class for juniors and seniors at the school.
It’s there that interested students learn about the human body, how to deal with injuries and why they happen when they do.
Over the years, the class has become a solid foundation for anyone hoping to pursue a future career as an athletic trainer or exercise therapist.
“We start from the toes and work our way up the body,” Neitzelt said. “We go over anatomy, we go over injuries and why the occur. I teach them a basic tape job for whatever part of the body we are talking about and they learn about the healing process.”
One requirement with the class is to attend sporting events and work the sidelines alongside Jackson’s athletic trainers. The hands-on portion is valuable to students, as it introduces them to the live action and speed of real situations and anything that may occur during them.
And more often than not, when a student keeps coming back to work more games, the feeling of how to view them from a trainer’s standpoint starts to shift.
Jackson senior Gabby Parcher went through the athletic training program as a sophomore and has been helping Neitzelt and company for three years.
“I just loved doing it and just stuck with it,” she said.
Parcher says she has realized her eye for the game changed once she hit the sidelines and got an up-close view of things. Now, the member of the girls track team feels a lot more knowledgeable about the human body and how to prevent injury. There are times that she even offers advice to her teammates about staying in good form.
Parcher will graduate from Jackson in the spring and hopes to become a kindergarten teacher. But after assisting the school’s athletic trainers for so many years, the sight of a collision or hard hit tends to catch her eye more than the big play these days.
Other aspects of being an athletic trainer took some time to get used to. After working closely with the football team, though, Parcher says no amount of blood, sweat or stench can turn her stomach anymore.
“I don’t think my friends could ever do this,” Parcher said. “They’d just get grossed out. All the stuff that you experience during football season just comes natural to me now.”
Through the guidance of some talented individuals, some of tomorrow’s trainers are being developed quicker than ever. Programs like the one at Jackson are becoming more popular around the area as the demand for more qualified athletic personnel grows.
For Neitzelt, he seeks joy in being able to pass along his knowledge to the next generation. To him, it starts with how to view the game.
“The big thing I try to impose upon them is to stay focused on what’s going on,” Neitzelt said. “You always have to pay attention to the game.”
Reach Joe at 330-775-1129 or joe.mitchin@indeonline.com.
On Twitter: @jmitchinINDE