Tag: Ricky Mendini

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Southern Utah University Partners with Local Hospital for Athletic Trainers

Article reposted from The Spectrum
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Southern Utah athletes will be getting more help on the sidelines.

Intermountain Sports Medicine, a division of Intermountain Healthcare, announced Wednesday that it has signed a three-year contract with SUU’s athletic department to provide a certified athletic trainer at all SUU athletic and team events.

“With a strong focus on student-athlete wellness, we are excited to partner with Intermountain Healthcare and subsequently elevate all aspects of our sports medicine vertical,” SUU athletic director Jason Butikofer said. “This strategic alignment will undoubtedly impact our program in the near term and beyond.”

SUU’s director of sports training Ricky Mendini will remain in his position, and SUU’s two current full-time trainers (Zac Wilson and Angela Calicchio) will become employees of both SUU and Intermountain Healthcare, Butikofer said.

With the agreement, SUU will add two additional full-time athletic trainers to the staff. With more manpower, the hope is that the training staff will be better able to assist injured athletes at the time of injury and through the recovery process. The partnership will provide more resources for hurt athletes to receive better care.

“Most athletics events don’t go without injury, and so properly addressing those injuries and getting athletes back to the field of play in a safe manner is our highest priority,” Intermountain Southwest Region Sports Medicine Manager Rhett Farrer said.

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Southern Utah Grad Reflects on World Series Win

This year, for the first time in 30 years, the Kansas City Royals won the World Series — on Nov. 1 the team completed an extra-inning comeback in Game 5 against the New York Mets.

In the middle of the celebration at Citi Field stood a very proud Southern Utah University alumnus, Kyle Turner.

“I was ecstatic to make it to the majors,” Turner said. “It was a lifelong dream and to finally get there and achieve a goal that you set out forever, it’s amazing. You watch the World Series on TV growing up and to actually get there was incredible.”

Turner played four years of Division I baseball for the Thunderbirds.

He graduated in 1998, and is now entering his fourth season as assistant athletic trainer for the Royals.

The path to the World Series had many stops with training stints at Northern Oklahoma College, seven seasons with the Texas Rangers working in different capacities and two seasons with the Royals as the club’s minor league medical coordinator.

Turner credits his time at SUU as a “building block,” and the education he received laid the foundation for his career.

“Anyone who works in the athletic training profession must possess a good work ethic because of the demands of the job,” said Ricky Mendini, associate athletic director at SUU. “Kyle has always exemplified that quality. He is an outstanding individual who has been a credit to the university and to the athletic training profession.”

Mendini said with the price of fame comes much time and effort and there are not a lot of people who can put that time in to move up to the next level.

“It takes a lot of perseverance and dedication to one area to break the barrier into the major leagues,” Mendini said. “Most people don’t hear about the long hours, the bus rides, or the time on the road away from family. I am proud of Kyle, as I am of all my former students who work in the profession of athletic training.”

In his current role with the Royals, Turner’s responsibilities are endless but his overall objective is the day-to-day maintenance and care of the players, sometimes to the point he is unable to even watch the games.

“The most rewarding part about my job is helping a player that has been hurt and then working with him to get him back out there competing at high level,” Turner said. “Knowing you played a key part in that is almost as rewarding as winning the World Series.”

Turner’s mother-in-law, Gabrielle Strand, AmeriCorps program specialist at SUU, credits Turner’s success to his personality.

“He is very personable and well-liked by the players,” she said. “He is patient, hardworking and knowledgeable.”

Follow Haven Scott, @HavenWScott. Call him at 435-865-4522.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/local/cedar-city/2015/11/28/suu-world-series/76509512/