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ARIZONA HIGH SCHOOL WELCOMES NEW ATHLETIC TRAINER

Article reposted from The Fountain Hills Times
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A new face will join the sidelines at local sporting events as Rachel Reimann takes over as athletic trainer for the Fountain Hills High School Falcons.

Reimann will be on hand at practices and during games courtesy of Spooner Physical Therapy.

Growing up in Mount Vernon, Iowa, Reimann graduated from high school in 2013. She said she was very active in extracurricular activities in high school, including volleyball, tennis and cheer, theater.

From there, Reimann attended Luther College, majoring in athletic training and earning a minor in health.

“I spent over 1,500 hours in the clinic there,” Reimann said of her experience. “In the summers, I was in charge of the school-hosted sports camps. I was considered the first responder, so that was fun.”

Reimann eventually made her way to Arizona thanks to a former professor.

“They went to A.T. Still University in Mesa and said I should look into it” Reimann said. “So I visited during the spring break of my junior year and I loved it. I loved Arizona. We got off the plane and it was 80 degrees compared to the 40 degrees in March in Iowa.”

Outside of the weather, Reimann said she was sold on the programs at the Arizona campus and was ready to make the move by the time she headed back to Iowa.

Partnering with Spooner Physical Therapy, Reimann will put what she’s learned in the classroom to good use with local athletics teams.

“I liked the atmosphere here,” Reimann added.

She said she will check in with the team at the clinic regularly but, for the most part, her job will be focusing on local athletes, helping them stay healthy and taking care of injuries, pains, strains, etc. as they surface.

Reimann said her favorite thing about the job is helping other people.

“I like making them feel better,” she added. “I like to think that’s part of my maternal instinct. I don’t like seeing people in pain, so I like to figure out how to make them feel better and how to make the pain go away.”

But as the head athletic trainer, Reimann said her job starts well before an athlete needs to have an injury tended to. Through education and preventative measures, her goal is to make it so that athletes rarely need her to step in and address a concern.

“I want to build mutual respect with the student athletes and make sure they know they can come to me with anything,” Reimann said. “I want them to know that I want to make them healthy and keep the safe.

“Part of what I do is the preventative side, so I don’t want them to get injured in the first place. I want to explain things on the front end, make sure their nutrition is well and that they’re staying hydrated and that the equipment they use is in good condition. It’s all encompassing.”

Looking ahead, Reimann said she is looking forward to her time here, as she plans to spend the next two years as the head athletic trainer while she finishes her work at A.T. Still.

“As an athletic trainer working with high school athletes, parents play a big role on my team,” she said. “I want local parents to know they can contact me if they have questions or concerns, or just want to say hi. I like to get to know people personally, so I’m looking forward to it.

“I’m really excited to be in the Fountain Hills community. It seems like a really nice town.”

To contact Reimann, she may be reached via email at r.reimann@spoonerpt.com.