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University of Arkansas Recreation Employs an Athletic Trainer

Article reposted from University of Arkansas
Author: Damon Akin

This fall, University Recreation is once again expanding its services with the introduction of the UREC Sports Injury Clinic. Featuring a certified athletic trainer, the new service will offer open clinic hours to University Recreation members, as well as provide services to Club Sports teams and other student affiliated sports programs.

The UREC Sports Injury Clinic will offer free injury examinations, as well as opportunities for injury prevention, emergency care, and rehabilitation. No appointment will be necessary for the UREC Sports Injury Clinic. Individuals may simply drop in during the clinic’s operating hours, which will be held in HPER 320 from 5 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

Avery Rotenberry, a licensed athletic trainer with athletic training certification, is University Recreation’s new graduate assistant for athletic training. Roteberry will oversee the day-to-day operations of the UREC Sports Injury Clinic. Rotenberry joins UREC following a one-year internship at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, where she was an athletic trainer for the men’s and women’s tennis teams.

“It is my belief that the clinic will serve as a valuable resource to the patrons of both UREC and the Club and Intramural Sports teams,” said Rotenberry. “The clinic will serve to educate people on the common injuries that they might sustain while recreating, and the proper steps and preemptive measures needed to prevent injury in the future.”

Prior to her time in Louisiana, Rotenberry attended the University of Southern Mississippi, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training in 2016. While at Southern Miss, Rotenberry participated in clinic rotations with varsity teams, physical therapists, an orthopedic office, and an emergency medical care service.

Rotenberry feels that the UREC Sports Injury Clinic highlights UREC’s desire to emphasize proper treatment of physical ailments while ensuring the health and safety of its patrons. Raised in Madison, Mississippi, Rotenberry became exposed to athletic training and its importance as a high school student. While playing high school volleyball, she sustained many different injuries, which required visiting the athletic trainer’s clinic to be taped before games and practices.

During these visits, athletic training piqued her interest and she soon began to spend her afternoons and weekends during the summer learning directly from the trainer. As an athletic trainer, it is Rotenberry’s passion to see people rehabilitated, and she enjoys helping people return to the activities that they love.

About the UREC Sports Injury Clinic: The UREC Sports Injury Clinic will offer open hours on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 5-8 p.m., in HPER 320, and is available at no cost to all students and UREC Members. Questions regarding the Sports Injury Clinic may be directed toward karotenb@uark.edu.

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Arkansas Athletic Training Student Wins Scholarship

Article reposted from University of Arkansas
Author: University of Arkansas

Evelyn Tandy, a University of Arkansas master’s student in athletic training, recently won the Ben Hogan Sports Medicine Scholarship from the National Athletic Trainers Association Research and Education Foundation.

She is also a recipient of Bill Ferrell Endowed Scholarship in Athletic Training from the U of A.

Tandy, of Crittenden, Kentucky, earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Earlham College and a master’s degree in teaching from Bethany College.

Tandy is doing a clinical rotation this semester with the Arkansas women’s soccer team. She would like to work at a Division III higher education institution after graduation.

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Arkansas England Honored With Chris Patrick Award

University of Arkansas head athletic trainer Dave England recently received the Chris Patrick Award at the Southeastern Conference sports medicine meetings in Opelika, Alabama.

The honor is given annually to the outstanding athletic trainer in the SEC as chosen by the directors of sports medicine at each league school. England is the third recipient of the accolade that is named in honor of the longtime University of Florida director of sports medicine. University of Georgia’s Steve Bryant received the award last year.

England has been a full-time athletic trainer with the Razorbacks since 1984 and he is currently the head athletic trainer for the Arkansas men’s basketball program. He also works with baseball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s golf and the Razorback spirit squads.

During his time with the Arkansas basketball program, he has been to 18 NCAA Tournaments and made three trips to the Final Four. England worked with the 1994 NCAA Championship team and the 1995 national runner-up squad.

One of the founding members of the Arkansas Athletic Trainers’ Association in 1987, England was inducted into the AATA Hall of Fame in 1999.

For more information on Arkansas men’s basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on Twitter.

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Bonacci Speaks to Cubs Medical Staff at Spring Symposium

The Chicago Cubs invited University of Arkansas professor Jeff Bonacci to speak at the team’s annual sports medicine and athletic training staff spring training symposium in Phoenix recently.

Bonacci, clinical assistant professor of kinesiology, directs the graduate athletic training education program in the College of Education and Health Professions. Mark Oneal, the director of sports medicine for the Cubs organization, asked Bonacci to discuss the future education of athletic trainers and how it will affect the professional development of the Cubs’ current staff and hiring of future athletic trainers.

“Based on the reputation of the athletic training education program at the University of Arkansas, our staff believes your program provides a strong foundation for previous and future graduates for the athletic training profession,” said Oneal, who is a 1989 graduate of the University of Arkansas.

The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education recently announced a new requirement that athletic training education be offered as a graduate-level degree. The entry level master’s program at the U of A was initially granted national accreditation in 2005 and it received a 10-year re-accreditation in 2010. For the past six years in a row, the program has a 100 percent pass rate for the Board of Certification exam. It has a 95 percent pass rate overall since its inception.

Bonacci said the invitation from the Cubs also gave him the opportunity to make connections to help students acquire internships and full-time positions in professional baseball. While in Phoenix, he visited with Adrian Pettaway, a 2011 graduate of the U of A athletic training education program. Pettaway is an assistant athletic trainer with the Cubs.

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