Tag: Henderson State University

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Henderson State Staffer Finds Satisfaction in Athletic Training

Article reposted from Henderson State University
Author: Henderson State University

Daniel Francis said he always had an interest in human anatomy, physiology, and “how it all works together.”

That interest led him to Henderson State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in athletic training and a Master of Science in sport administration.

Today, Francis is a staff athletic trainer at Henderson where he is responsible for the day-to-day evaluation, treatment, and prevention of athletic injuries, primarily for men’s and women’s basketball.

“At first, I didn’t know about the profession of athletic training, so my original career goal was to become a physical therapist,” Francis said. “I have always been involved in athletics and fitness, and as a result dealt with some injuries. I met John Miller, Henderson’s athletic training education program director, when I was in high school.

“It was at that time that I learned about the profession of athletic training. When I got to college, I talked to him about athletic training. After taking a few classes, I fell in love with it since it is a combination of physical therapy and athletics.”

A native of Gurdon, Francis “grew up” only 15 minutes from the Henderson campus.

“I knew a lot of people who graduated from Henderson,” he said. “I always wanted to be a Reddie.”

Francis attended Henderson from 2007 to 2013 as he pursued his degrees. He was a member of the Reddie golf team, and participated in various campus organizations and activities. He worked as an athletic trainer at Ouachita Baptist University before returning to Henderson.

Francis said he enjoys working with the athletes.

“It’s so satisfying to see athletes compete and be successful at their sport, especially those who have had an injury and I am able to help them come back from that injury,” he said.

Francis has high praise for Henderson’s health programs.

“They are great at preparing students, regardless if it is for athletic training, physical therapy, exercise science, or to be a physical education teacher,” he said. “The professors and instructors are very knowledgeable and go out of their way to prepare you for the future.”

Francis said his degree has led to many friendships and opportunities.

“I have come in contact with a lot of great people and have developed lasting friendships with those individuals,” he said. “It has also allowed me to pursue opportunities and jobs in athletic training at the high school, college, and professional levels.

“Health profession opportunities, regardless if its athletic training, personal training, physical therapy, coaching, or physical education, are growing every day. Henderson’s health programs do a great job of preparing individuals to be successful.”

Henderson’s athletic training degree was recently changed to health and human performance (HHP), which provides a general pre-professional curriculum preparing students for health-related graduate programs.

HHP majors can focus on athletic training, physical therapy, occupational therapy, or strength and conditioning. They can then pursue post-graduate professional schools in these areas.

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Athletic Trainer Shares His Story To Encourage Other Athletes

Article reposted from NWA
Author: NWA

The Henderson State Football athletic trainer has been coaching students back to health for more than two decades. It’s a job he doesn’t take lightly. However, up until recently he’s kept something from the staff and students.
With every play and every hit, Robert Redding is on the sidelines carefully watching. Redding is the Henderson State assistant athletic director for sports medicine and the main athletic trainer for Reddies Football.
Not just on the field, but in the training room he helps get players in tip-top shape for their best performance.
He’s been the athletic director at different schools for more than 20 years, but during most of his career he’s kept something from the programs he’s worked for.
“It’s a thing that everybody just doesn’t want to talk about,” said Redding.
That was until he was inspired to speak out this year.
“Maybe my little voice can bring a little light into the darkness so to speak,” he said.
He wrote an article for SB Nation’s Outsports.com. It’s a website that says it’s a voice for LGBT athletes.
“I wanted to show people that it’s acceptable to be an out, professional gay man in the world today,” said Redding.
He decided to write it after attending a conference over the summer. His hope was to to show other gay student athletes it’s okay, especially in a football environment.
“Being taboo about talking about it. If no one talks about it there is no awareness of it,” explained Redding. “It brings some more visibility to those issues.”
He’s received more support at Henderson State than he ever expected.
“It took a lot of courage for Rob to come out and express his feelings about the person he really is. I think that just proves the kind of man that he is,” said head football coach Scott Maxfield.
As for the student athletes, he was most concerned with how they would perceive it. But the response was only encouragement.
“I think it’s a great thing for him to come out and say what he really believes in,” said quarterback Blake Reeve. “It didn’t really effect the environment. We’re all family here. We support one another.”
As he continues to do his job, like he has for the last two decades, he says others from across the globe have reached out to him thankful for his words.
“I got an email from a guy in South Africa said ‘I like your story, it’s really good, it inspires me to be who I am,’ and that’s important,” said Redding.
That’s why he put his words and story in writing for the world to see.
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Henderson State AT Comes Out, Finds Acceptance

Article reposted from OutSports.com
Author: Rob Redding

Four years ago I decided I was finally tired of hiding that I am gay.

As an Athletic Trainer at Henderson State Univ., an NCAA Division II school in Arkansas -€” in a town of 10,000 called Arkadelphia -€” there were so many reasons to leave things be, just live my life in the closet. The job was great, the personal relationships and friendships were top-notch. Why change it all up? Why risk it?

The “why” was my own personal mental well-being. I just couldn’t go on living a secret life. And the person I most needed to tell was our head football coach, Scott Maxfield.

As I read story after story on Outsports -€” something I have done since finding the site in 2001 -€” I saw that by being honest and being who you are really was a better way.

So, on a daily walk with our head football coach, I did it.

I remember it taking a lap or two around the track to work myself up to it. After I blurted out the words, Scott had a question.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

He worried that I didn’t trust him enough. At this point we had been friends for about 10 years, having worked together most of those years including working together at our previous school. The truth is, I was scared to tell him because of the possibility of things changing.

Athletic trainers are medical professionals who work very closely with student-athletes. In my case I am the Assistant AD for Sports Medicine. My primary sport coverage responsibilities are football and baseball. I am at every practice and travel to every game with my teams. I am responsible for evaluating and treating injuries to my student-athletes. A lot of time this requires close physical interaction with them. While I am very professional with all my interactions, I have long worried about how the athlete would feel if the guy doing a deep-tissue massage on his hamstring was gay.

Athletics can be a daunting and sometimes unfriendly environment for gay people. Being in the South and the Bible Belt adds to this as well. I examined all of these things as I worked my way to this much-needed talk with the coach.

Aside from him being disappointed that I had waited so long to tell him, the rest of my coming-out conversation with him was great. I came out to his wife that evening and received much the same response. They are great people and some of my best friends.

As so many others have expressed, far from my fears being founded I discovered my relationship strengthened by this sharing of my personal truth.

The 2015 football season was the first time I shared begin gay with some of my current players. I am reasonably sure that most of my athletes have known I am gay. While I don’t talk about much personal stuff at work I do not go out of my way to hide everything. It’s definitely there if you look. I began spending some time with two of my football players outside of work. Mostly I felt the need to tell them to assure them that our friendship was just that, and that there were no secrets on my end.

Again the sharing of this deeply personal side of me showed them my trust and strengthened our relationships.

This past June I was fortunate enough to attend the 2016 Outsports Reunion in Chicago. The event was outstanding and gave us the opportunity to share and listen to stories from other gay student athletes, coaches, administrators, sports media folks and, yes, athletic trainers. I heard over and over again about how positive coming out was. I saw over and over the power of sharing our stories with each other.

On that Saturday in Chicago I listened to former Major League Soccer player Matt Hatzke talk about not seeing any well-adjusted successful gay men out there when he was growing up and playing soccer. There are lots of these gay men out there. There just are not enough stories out there to be seen.

That tremendous experience in Chicago is what has brought me here writing this story to share. As the guys at Outsports often say, “Another domino falls.”

Before I could write the story, though, I had to clear it with our athletic director, Shawn Jones. I can say I have the best boss in the world. Our conversation was long and reaching, with him giving me nothing but support. He is a reflection of our university administration: I am so fortunate to work at a place where there is so much acceptance and support.

So I am sharing this story for everyone out there to see a successful out gay man working in college athletics in the South. The small-town South. In football.

I know there are challenges that folks are dealing with every day, and some are in difficult environments. But I want them to know they have a community they can turn to for support and encouragement. I want them to see that it’s OK to be who they are wherever they are and whatever they are doing.

You can find Rob Redding on Facebook. You can also email Rob at reddingrob@yahoo.com.