Tag: Athletic Trainer

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Rohling leads county athletic trainers

Lawrence County native Brad Rohling is often visible on the athletic sidelines.

But he is not a coach or athlete.

He is an athletic trainer at Central Magnet and is the coordinator of athletic training outreach for NHC Rehabilitation and TOA (Tennessee Orthopedic Alliance). Rohling took his undergraduate work at MTSU and graduate work at Auburn.

He worked with Auburn football for four years when Tommy Tuberville was the Tigers coach.

Rohling recently spoke with the DNJ about his role with Rutherford County athletics:

How many athletic trainers cover Rutherford County’s schools? And what are their responsibilities?

We have 10 that cover 10 high schools. All 10 have bachelor’s degrees. Five of them have completed their master’s. And five are currently enrolled in master’s classes.

They are responsible in covering any varsity, junior varsity or freshman sport.

What is your role, outside of being the athletic trainer at Central Magnet.

I oversee the other nine athletic trainers in the county. I oversee, manage and supervise and deal with any issues we have with any of those guys.

High school practices have begun across the state. What do you recommend athletes do to make sure they stay hydrated now?

It’s preparation. You have to pre-hydrate. You have to hydrate the day before, two days before going into it. You have to prepare yourself for what you are about to get into. You need to be smart and not practice in the middle of the day. There is the TSSAA heat policy that says we can’t go out if it is a certain temperature. And there is the recovery time. You need to get the proper rest and the proper food.

What type of meals and how much rest should athletes be getting now with practice starting?

It’s a lot more food than what you think because athletes are burning so many calories and using so much energy during the day. Proper food — stay away from any fast food. Grilled chicken sandwiches and things like that are good. Drinking fruit juices, Gatorade and water. They need to stay away from sodas and Kool Aid. There is too much sugar in that.

And how much rest do athletes need now?

For sure, they need to get the proper amount of rest. I wouldn’t stay out all night. I can’t put a number on it.

Concussions are a big concern these days. If an athlete receives a blow to the head, how can an athlete and parents monitor their athlete to make sure there isn’t a concussion? What are the signs?

Part of the Rutherford County concussion policy gives parents information as to what to look for. If they are sleeping a lot more or a lot less. If they are irritable or sensitive to light or noise. If they have nausea and aren’t acting right, those are potential signs. We put a lot on the parents because they know their kids; they see their kids at night and after practice. That’s part of the education packet.

Is everyone doing baseline testing for concussions in Rutherford County?

Everyone is.

What is baseline testing, and how important is it to monitor concussions?

Impact testing is just that, a baseline test. It’s not a cure. It’s not going to prevent a concussion. It’s not going to help them get better. You get a baseline as where that kid is for short-term memory, long-term memory and reaction time. Then, if a kid receives a concussion, they can take the test and it measures the results against what the baseline test result was.

With so many practices and sporting events going on during the school year, how do athletic trainers cover all of the teams?

There have been studies done as far as rate of injury. Football has the most injuries. Football is the priority. But soccer is a priority over volleyball just because it is a contact, collision sport. It’s based on the rate of injury.

What are the most common injuries during a high school season?

There are a lot of ankle injuries and shoulder injuries during the season just because of how the body is and how the joint is. The more movement you have in the joint, the looser it is.

How important is it for an athletic trainer to get to know the high school athlete?

That is a crucial part of our job because I can tell if something is going on with that kid. Even with a concussion, you can tell if he’s not acting right. Or if there is something else going on, I know the kids. In our role, a lot of times they feel more comfortable telling us than they will their coaches. We kind of have to be the go between. We have to sometimes play the good-guy role and also sometime the bad-guy role. That is a huge part of our job — is getting to know the kids.

Overall, how good are the coaches in Rutherford County to work with?

I think we’ve got the best coaches in the state. They understand that we’ve got a job to do, and that is to protect those kids. With all of the concussion legislation going on, they are definitely going to defer to our opinion on things. We generally don’t have any issues with coaches getting upset.

What is the best part of your job?

The kids, the coaches and the level of competition in Rutherford County.

What is the worst part of your job?

The way our program is set up, a lot of times the people that work for me hit two years and go work somewhere else. I enjoy watching those guys grow. As soon as they get to be a high-level athletic trainer, they leave and go somewhere else.

Contact Tom Kreager at 615-278-5168 or tkreager@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kreager.

Meet Brad Rohling

Who: Coordinator of athletic training outreach for NHC Rehabilitation and TOA

Age: 38.

Family: Wife: Amber; daughter: Stella, 6 months old

Education: Lawrence County High School graduate. Bachelor’s in athletic training at MTSU. Master’s in higher education administration from Auburn.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:                                                                                             http://www.dnj.com/story/news/2015/07/11/qa-rohling-leads-county-athletic-trainers/30015753/

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Gardner-Webb’s Kevin Jones Named 2015 Division I Athletic Trainer of the Year

Longtime Gardner-Webb University Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Training Training Kevin Jones was named College/University Athletic Trainers’ Committee 2015 Division I Athletic Trainer of the Year Thursday at the annual NATA Convention.

Jones (MA, ATC, LAT), who is entering his 32nd season with the Runnin’ Bulldogs, also serves as an Assistant Professor and as a Preceptor in the athletic training major in Gardner-Webb University’s School of Preventative and Rehabilitative Health Sciences.

“I feel honored to win such a prestigious award and to represent Gardner-Webb University,” said Jones. “I have been very fortunate to have been surrounded by great mentors, co-workers, students and student-athletes.

“The true reward in athletic training is to see others succeed. I have been blessed to share in their successes.”

Jones took over the Gardner-Webb athletic training program in 1984. His tireless effort has consistently driven the program’s reputation to the highest level and Jones has been the catalyst in the addition of athletic training as an academic major.

Since his arrival on campus, countless student athletic trainers and other staff have gone on to successful careers in the field. One of Jones’ pupils, current Mars Hill head athletic trainer Allen Shelley (MA, ATC, LAT), was honored as the 2015 Division II Athletic Trainer of the Year on Thursday morning in St. Louis.

Shelley earned his undergraduate degree from Gardner-Webb in 1992 and a master’s degree from GWU in 1995.

Jones was honored in 2007 by Gardner-Webb’s athletic department with its Hall of Fame Meritorious Service Award and was named Gardner-Webb University Male Staff Member of the year in 2014.

“This is a great honor for Kevin, personally and professionally, and we join he and his family in celebrating,” said Gardner-Webb Vice President for Athletics Chuck Burch.

“His work over the past three decades to advance the quality our athletic training program has been instrumental in the ability to provide student-athletes with top-notch care.”

During his early years at Gardner-Webb, Jones spent time as the school’s track and field coach. An avid cyclist, Jones played a critical role in bringing the 1996 U.S. Olympic Cycling Trials Women’s Road Race to Boiling Springs, N.C.

Jones earned a degree in physical education with an emphasis in athletic training from Lenoir-Rhyne in 1984 and graduated with a master’s degree in physical education from Gardner-Webb in 1986. He and his wife, Shelly, have a daughter, Taylor, and a son, Ryan.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.gwusports.com/sports/fball/2014-15/releases/20150625wp1nx1

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Transition to Practice: Transitioning From Student to Athletic Trainer

Recently in athletic training there has been a great deal of attention given to transition to practice.  Our research into the transition to practice of new Athletic Trainers has been enlightening.  We want to discuss this topic and some of our findings in a series of articles.

The purpose of this series is to provide information about transition to practice to new Athletic Trainers and those who work with them. We hope our information will help  new employees and their employers.

We would like to begin by addressing the question: what is transition to practice?

Transition to practice is defined as:

“A process of convoluted passage in which people redefine their sense of self and develop self-agency in response to disruptive life events, not just the change but the process that people go through to incorporate the change or disruption in their life” (Kralick, et al.).

Simply put, this is a transition individuals go through when encountering a new environment and/or culture and must adapt while learning about themselves.  This transition can occur at any point in one’s life, whether it is graduating from college and accepting a first job or moving on to a different job.

New employees enter a different, unfamiliar workplace with new people and different policies and procedures.  For newly credentialed Athletic Trainers this transition is even more challenging because they are no longer students and must now make decisions on their own.  This transition is a normal process and happens at any level of education and/or experience.  Transition to practice is not new to the athletic training profession, nor are we alone in this experience.  Other healthcare professions also struggle with the transition.

Transition to practice is not based on preparedness.  Many will say students aren’t as prepared as they used to be.  Supervisors of newly credentialed Athletic Trainers will tell you they are very prepared as far as their medical knowledge (Thrasher, et al.).  Anecdotally, some say students today don’t seem to be transitioning as well as those in the past.  We don’t know if this is true or not, and it’s not the focus of this series.  We wanted to point out that preparedness does not equal transition to practice.

In closing, transition to practice is a process that takes anywhere from 6 months to 1 year.  During this time, the new employee adapts, evolves and changes who they are in this world.  For new Athletic Trainers, part of this is transitioning from student to independent healthcare provider. There are many feelings and experiences these new Athletic Trainers encounter. We will discuss more on this topic in our next article.

References

Kralick D, Visetin K, von Loon A. Transition: A literature review. J Adv Nurs. 2006;55(3):320-9.

Thrasher AB, Walker SE, Hankemeier DA, Pitney WA. Supervising athletic trainers’ perceptions of professional socialization of graduate assistant athletic trainers in the collegiate setting. J Athl Train. 2015;50(3); 321–333.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:                                                                                                                             http://www.bocatc.org/blog/athletic-trainer-stories/transition-to-practice-series-transitioning-from-student-to-athletic-trainer/

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Sally Nogle earns Tim Kerin Award

Add the Tim Kerin Award to the long list of recognition for Michigan State head athletic trainer Sally Nogle.

Nogle received the award, given to one individual each year for outstanding service as an athletic trainer, on Thursday in St. Louis at the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s national convention. It has been awarded in the name of Kerin, the late, longtime University of Tennessee trainer, since 1994. Kerin died suddenly from an aortic aneurysm in 1992.

“This is quite a professional honor, especially since I knew Tim Kerin,” Nogle said in a statement. “As a young professional, I looked up to Tim because he had established himself as a leader in this field. He had quite an impact on this profession.”

Also Thursday, MSU associate head athletic trainer Dave Carrier was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame. Carrier is entering his 32nd season as the athletic trainer of the MSU hockey team.

Nogle was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 2012. She received the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award in 2003 and the NATA Service Award in 1998.

Nogle also has received the Michigan Athletic Trainers’ Society Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award and the Michigan Athletic Trainers’ Society Hall of Fame Award. In 2006, she received the Jack Breslin Outstanding Staff Award for Michigan State University.

In 2008, Nogle was honored with the San Diego State University Robert J. Moore Distinguished Alumnus Award, and in 2012 she received the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers’ Association (GLATA) Outstanding Educator Award.

Nogle has been with MSU’s training staff since 1983 and was promoted MSU head athletic trainer and head football athletic trainer in 2013.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:                                                                 http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/sports/2015/06/25/msu-athletic-trainer-sally-nogle-earns-tim-kerin-award/29288719/

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BRIAN ZETTLER NAMED JAZZ HEAD ATHLETIC TRAINER

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has named Brian Zettler as the fourth head athletic trainer in franchise history. In addition, Nick Asay has been promoted to assistant trainer and Adam Klauke has been named the team’s equipment manager.

Zettler recently completed his 19th season in professional basketball and his 12th season with the Jazz, having served as the assistant trainer/equipment manager since the 2004-05 season. Prior to joining the Jazz, Zettler spent three seasons as the head athletic trainer with the Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football League. He concurrently spent four seasons assisting the Dallas Cowboys athletic training department. Zettler also worked with the Dallas Mavericks athletic training staff from 1997 until his departure to Utah. Before working in professional sports, he spent three years as the head athletic trainer at the Southwestern Assemblies of God University where he founded the school’s sports medicine program.

The Waxahachie, Texas native earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science from Texas A&M in 1993 and a dual master’s degrees in science and education from the University of North Texas in 1998 and 1999. He is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Consultant (NCSA), a Performance Enhancement Specialist and Corrective Exercise Specialist (NASM). He was co-founder and elected inaugural president of the National Basketball Equipment Managers Association (NBAEMA) in 2013.

Zettler replaces longtime Jazz head athletic Trainer, Gary Briggs, who retired following the 2014-15 season after 33 NBA seasons, including 15 with Utah.

Asay spent the last two seasons assisting the Jazz athletic training staff and has worked for the franchise for six years total. In his new role, he will be a traveling member of the team’s training staff while continuing to work closely with the University of Utah Health Care, the official Jazz healthcare provider.  Asay previously spent four seasons working for the University of Utah Health Care, serving as their head athletic trainer at Herriman High School from 2011-14.

The Salt Lake Valley native completed his undergraduate degree in athletic training and also received his master’s degree in sports psychology at the University of Utah. Asay served as the head athletic trainer for former Jazz NBA Development League affiliate, Utah Flash, from 2007-09. He previously worked as an athletic trainer for the University of Utah baseball team from 2004-06 and the Washington Nationals’ minor league affiliate, the Vermont Lake Monsters, from 2006-07.

Klauke has been with the Jazz for 16 years in various capacities in basketball operations, serving as the team’s assistant equipment manager and Zions Bank Basketball Center facility coordinator for the past three seasons. In addition to his time with the Jazz, Klauke spent 12 seasons with the Salt Lake Bees. Beginning as a program seller and bat boy, he served as assistant clubhouse manager for eight years.

A 2009 graduate of the University of Utah, Klauke earned a bachelor’s degree in health promotion and education.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.nba.com/jazz/news/jazz-name-brian-zettler-head-athletic-trainer

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Alexander Added to Emporia State Staff

Emporia State athletics has announced the hiring of Kelly Alexander as assistant athletic trainer for the Hornets. She comes to Emporia State after seven seasons as the assistant athletic trainer at CSU-Pueblo.

“We are excited to add Kelly to our staff,” said Emporia State head athletic trainer Dustin Enslinger. “She brings great experience to Emporia State and will help us continue to provide the best health care to our student-athletes.”

She will work primarily with the Hornet volleyball and track and field programs at Emporia State.

”I’m happy to be given this new opportunity to work within another great D-II school and the highly competitive student-athletes at Emporia State,” said Alexander. “I’m excited to get to know and work with the coaches and student-athletes and help them stay healthy and ready to perform at their best.”

While with the Thunderwolves, Alexander assisted in the rehabilitation of CSU-Pueblo student-athletes, including supplying athletic training services to several athletic programs.

Prior to CSU-Pueblo, Alexander was the head athletic trainer at Colorado Christian University’s for one year. Alexander was also an associate athletic trainer for the Cougars for two seasons. She has also served as the head athletic trainer at Chatfield HS in Littleton, Colo., and had an assistantship with the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA.

Alexander recently completed her Master’s degree in Sports Medicine from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. The 2003 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is a Certified Athletic Trainer and has been licensed by the American Red Cross in CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer. She also served in the United States Air Force from 1989-1999.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.esuhornets.com/news/2015/7/13/ATHMED_0713154148.aspx

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Athletic Trainers are Key to Concussion Management

Athletes under the age of 18 are the most vulnerable when it comes to sustaining concussions. Accurately diagnosing concussions on the field of play is an important way to protect them, according to research published this month in the Journal of Child Neurology.

“The continued play by a child who has sustained a concussion puts them at significant increased risk,” said Jacob Resch, associate professor at the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education and co-author of the study. “To keep a concussed child from continuing to play requires immediate and accurate diagnosis.”

Every state but one requires youth athletes suspected of having a sport concussion be removed from play and not allowed to return without written clearance from a health care provider. But, according to Resch, many young athletes are playing without the elements in place needed to accurately diagnose a concussion during a game.

The article, “The Acute Management of Sport Concussion in Pediatric Athletes,” provides a clinical framework for the assessment, evaluation and management of pediatric sports concussions.

One key element: the presence of an athletic trainer or trained clinician at sports events.

“Diagnosing sport concussion requires specific training,” Resch said. “Think of it as a medical specialty that not necessarily all general practitioners or pediatricians are well versed in. There is a range of assessments used in diagnosing concussions and each of them requires specific training.

“The best person to have on a sideline is someone who has specific training in this area, most often seen in a certified athletic trainer.”

Young children often play sports in youth leagues, while adolescents often play in club or school sports. Currently, the only data collected on the presence of athletic trainers is on high school sports, where only 46 percent of high schools have a full-time athletic trainer. In many of those cases, a single athletic trainer is responsible for all of the school’s teams.

In other cases, schools or programs may share an athletic trainer or hire an athletic trainer or clinician to temporarily work a tournament or series of events.

“At this point, we just don’t know how many youth sports are being played with a certified athletic trainer or clinician trained in diagnosing concussions on the sidelines,” Resch said.

In the absence of someone specifically trained to diagnose and treat concussions, the role is often filled by an emergency medical technician.

“EMTs are a vital member of the sports medicine team,” Resch said. “However, EMTs may receive limited training in concussion assessment.”

In the article, Resch and co-author Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher of the University of Michigan reviewed the reliability and validity of assessment tools currently used to diagnose concussions. They recommend these tools be used alongside a clinical evaluation.

Another element needed to accurately and immediately diagnose youth sport concussions is a precursor to the first: taking a baseline measurement of the elements assessed to diagnose a concussion before a young athlete is injured. These elements include a balance test and recording the typical number of headaches a child has per month.

“One challenge in diagnosing concussions is that we are often measuring how a concussion manifests itself in other symptoms in the body,” Resch said. “Because no two children are alike and no two concussions are alike, it is difficult to say a particular score on a particular assessment always means a concussion is present or not.”

Knowing how a child scores on a balance test prior to play gives the individual making the diagnosis a sense of how far from that baseline an injured child is currently scoring. To know a child’s baseline often requires parents to seek a supplemental physical with a sports concussion clinician.

“Parents can certainly ask their pediatrician if they have expertise in diagnosing concussions,” Resch said. “If they don’t, they can often recommend someone who does.”

Preseason is a good time for concussion education, the authors suggested. Many states require student-athletes, their parents, coaches and administrators to participate in concussion education before the start of the season. However, those sessions vary significantly across ages, leagues and states.

Resch and Kutcher recommend that whatever the format, the content should include what signs and symptoms of concussion will lead to the player’s immediate removal from the field of play.

Though increased media attention has led to an added emphasis on the response to and management of concussions, the researchers noted that data is significantly lacking on youth sports concussions and called for more research.

“We need to continue to examine the data around concussions in youth sports and use that data to improve our efforts in education and recommendations for keeping young athletes safe,” Resch said.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:                                                                                                       http://www.healthcanal.com/brain-nerves/65450-study-immediate-diagnosis-of-concussions-better-protects-youth-athletes.html