Article reposted from: Los Angeles Rams
Author: Zach Welch
As well-documented as the Rams’ relocation to Southern California has been, the work that goes into such a large operation can sometimes go unnoticed.
Spearheading the athletic training room’s move from St. Louis, Mo., to California – first to Oxnard, then to Irvine and finally to Thousand Oaks – was Rams Assistant Athletic Trainer Hilary Stepansky.
Moving an entire medical operation three separate times – for a total of nearly 2,100 miles in five months – is no small feat and her peers have noticed the effort that has been put in.
“Since we relocated to Los Angeles she’s been the catalyst for organizing the logistics during our transition,” Rams Physical Therapist/Assistant Athletic Trainer Byron Cunningham stated. “Within a five-month span we have moved our athletic training room a total of three times. It’s unbelievable to me that she’s able to lead that entire process and still complete her day-to-day athletic training responsibilities.”
The logistics and the move that Stepansky has led is just one notable piece from Stepansky’s story.
Stepansky is one of only five full-time, female athletic trainers in the National Football League and her work is appreciated in the Rams locker room.
“She’s a hard worker,” Rams RB Todd Gurley
said when asked to describe Stepansky. “What I appreciate the most about her is that she’s always there anytime I need anything – no matter how big or small.”
“Her passion for medicine and player care really fits in well with our identity as an athletic training staff,” noted Rams Assistant Athletic Trainer Tyler Williams.
At the forefront of hiring female athletic trainers in the NFL has been Rams Director of Sports Medicine and Performance Reggie Scott. Scott, who enters his seventh season with the Rams was a part of something special during one of the Rams’ preseason contests in Los Angeles. During Week 2 of the preseason, the Rams and Kansas City Chiefs had a combined five female full-time or student athletic trainers working the game – a number believed to be the highest in a single game in NFL history.
“It’s been wonderful to see how the NFL has embraced women in athletic training over the past few years,” Scott stated. “The culture that Jeff Fisher, Les Snead, and Kevin Demoff have cultivated to provide this opportunity for women in the NFL workplace has been wonderful to be a part of.”
Scott was able to appreciate the special occasion that occurred against Kansas City.
“It has been a delight to have Hilary and various female student athletic trainers provide care for the players on the Rams organization,” Scott said. “Hilary has been a great addition to our staff and her energy and work ethic has been instrumental in our continued success in the athletic training department.