Pam Welsh and Jayme Harrold of Northwest Christian University have been recognized as the Cascade Collegiate Conference Athletic Training Staff of the Year as announced by the league office on Monday.
Winners are selected based on a survey that was taken by CCC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members and distributed to student-athletes around the conference. This is the second year of the awards existence. In 2015 the staff of Southern Oregon University took home the prize.
Welsh is just finishing her fourth year as the head athletic trainer for the Beacons and had a key role in seeing four different teams qualify for NAIA Tournaments including a national championship victory for the women’s cross country team.
“Pam calls all of us athletes her ‘kids,’ and that is definitely how she makes us feel, said sophomore Rosa Schmidt, an All-American member of the women’s cross country and track & field teams. “She takes care of our aches and scrapes with so much care, you can’t help but feel better.”
Welsh has primary responsibility over all 13 of NCU’s varsity programs and also spent time in the classroom this past year, teaching anatomy and physiology classes and labs in NCU’s biology department.
Harrold recently completed her first year as NCU’s assistant athletic trainer. Harrold came to NCU from the University of Oregon where she completed her graduate work in 2015. Harrold shared responsibility for NCU’s 13 programs and assumed full game-day duties for numerous soccer, basketball, and softball games throughout the year. Harrold also taught a variety of classes and in NCU’s exercise science program.
In addition, Welsh and Harrold headed up the athletic training services for the CCC men’s and women’s soccer tournament, which was hosted by NCU and featured 16 teams over three days of competition. “On behalf of the conference I want to extend my congratulations to Pam and Jayme from NCU on their Athletic Training Staff of the Year Award,” stated CCC Commissioner Rob Cashell. “I was fortunate enough to witness the outstanding effort that was put forth in managing the soccer tournament last November. Making sure the needs of the 16 competing teams and visiting ATC’s were met was a significant task that was handled smoothly and with great professionalism.”
Welsh joined the NCU athletic staff in the fall of 2012 after spending one year working with high schools in the Olathe, Kansas area. She did her graduate studies at the University of Oregon after completing her undergraduate work at the University of Northern Iowa.
Welsh said, “It is an honor to be selected to win this award, with so many athletic training staffs that could have been chosen. Our goal is always to care for all of the athletes in the CCC with compassion, and now we feel validated that we met that goal.”
Athletic Director Corey Anderson said, “We are so proud of Pam and Jayme for this recognition from the CCC. This award is especially meaningful being that it is voted on by the CCC student-athletes. Our NCU Athletic Training Department has performed at a high level throughout this year (as well as in season’s past), taking care of our NCU Student-Athletes. This award brings that to the forefront as well as the care that is being provided to our visiting student-athletes as well. Congratulations on well-deserved honor to Pam and Jayme! Thank you for representing NCU in the manner that you do!”
Welsh will be put forth as the CCC’s nominee for NAIA-ATA Athletic Trainer of the Year.