Article reposted from The Progress
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Like any type of medical field, most athletic trainers choose the profession because they enjoying helping people. Moshannon Valley athletic trainer Michael Zalno is no different.
After suffering through a basketball injury while a student-athlete at Penn Trafford High School, Zalno had to work with the school’s athletic trainer to get better.
All that time in the training room led him to think athletic training was a fun profession with the best of both worlds.
“I got to help people and continue to be around sports,” he said.
After graduating from Penn Trafford, Zalno earned his BS in athletic training from Duquesne University in 2000. He went on to get an MS in sports administration from Eastern Kentucky in 2001.
Zalno also has a Corrective Exercise Specialist Certificate from the National Academy of Sports Medicine, where he learned more about dysfunctional movement patterns evaluating, assessing and how to implement exercises into rehabilitation programs or preventative programs to help correct and enhance the movement patterns.
All of those things have helped Zalno establish Moshannon Valley High School as a NATA Safe School. The award recognizes school districts that have programs, procedures and policies in place to help keep the student-athletes safe.
Keeping his athletes safe is a big priority for Zalno, who started his career at Joyner Sports Medicine and was the trainer for Tyrone High School. He also worked at Apollo-Ridge and Bedford Area before coming to Moshannon Valley in November of 2014.
He is currently employed by ProCare Rehabilitation and provides all the athletic training services within Mo Valley.
Zalno’s day at the school begins at 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Once he gets there, he checks in with the school nurse and they update each other on injuries or issues their student-athletes may be having.
Once the school day is officially over, he provides treatment, rehabilitation and preventative measures for all of his athletes.
If it is a game day or night, he prepares his field bag and sets up the venue where the event is being played, where it is the football field or the school’s gymnasium.
If there is no game, Zalno checks in on all of the practices and talks with the coaches to get updates on the status of his student-athletes.
For Zalno, his job is all about the kids.
When asked what he thought the best thing was about his job, he stated, “Helping the kids to return from injury and succeeding in their chosen sport.”
His favorite memory from his time at Moshannon Valley is seeing the kids and the different teams having success.
There has been alot of success at the school in several sports over the last few years, and Zalno has been a part in that.