Tag: Utica College

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Dawn Corbin’s work appreciated at Utica

Article reposted from The Tangerine
Author: Christian A. Rodriguez

Athletic trainers play big parts in athlete’s careers. Their job is to help athletes recover from their injuries, as well as evaluate and prevent injuries.

They put together injury prevention protocols for teams that are separated by specific body parts. If the athlete gets hurt, they find out what it is, and inform the athlete. If the injury isn’t too severing, they will provide exercises and rehabilitation for the athlete to recover. If it is severe, they will set them up with an appointment at the nearest hospital.

If you are a student athlete at Utica College, then you are familiar with the athletic training room where you see a 5 foot 6 inch, brown-haired women with glasses and a pet dog by her side at her desk. That woman is Assistant Athletic Trainer Dawn Corbin. Junior men’s basketball player Ivan Iton appreciates having Corbin around when he needs her. She once treated Ivan for a dislocated finger in his freshman season at UC and he says his finger was as good as new, but Corbin made sure he was in her office every day to be sure his finger got better.

“UC is very fortunate to have such a passionate worker like Dawn on campus for the past eight years,” Iton said.

“Since the day I was hired in August of 2009, I always loved to see the process from when athletes get hurt to when the athlete is better; it is truly a rewarding feeling,” Corbin said.

Dawn earned her bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2004. She wasn’t done yet; she traveled to Virginia and went on to earn her master’s in kinesiology, the study of human movement, from the University of Virginia in 2005.

“It was really tough at the University of Virginia. I was working with the football team and teaching while completing my master’s degree is just one year,” Corbin added. She was teaching physical education classes while getting her master’s degree along with working with the football team at the University of Virginia.

Her hard work is inspiring as she also managed to accomplish every college student’s dream, to graduate with a 4.0 GPA, and she did it from both institutions.

Athletic training has always been a part of Corbin life since she started studying athletic training as a freshman. Prior to working at Utica College, from 2000 to 2004 she was an intern for the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers as an undergraduate at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. As a huge football fan, Corbin said she was very fortunate and grateful for that opportunity, she said. Her favorite player on the team was Jerome Bettis and she says that he was the reason she got the job.

“I was walking around the facility and happened to walk into the training room where Jerome walked in and asked what I was doing there,” Corbin said. “They told him I was interning for a job and he said ‘well let’s see how she tapes an ankle’ and he seemed to like the way I taped because I got the job right on the spot.”

From 2005 to 2009, Corbin was also a part of the Shorter University’s athletic training staff in Rome, Georgia.

In this world, it is good to expand your mind and get out of your comfort zone, and not be so one-dimensional. Athletic training isn’t the only thing Corbin is good at. She wrote an article on postural control that was published for the Journal of Sports Rehabilitation in 2007. The name of the article is “The Effect of Texture Orthotics of Postural Control.” In 2009 that same book was published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

“At first I was just researching for personal knowledge, but then I thought I should share it with the world,” Corbin said. “After the first publish in 2007 I was really happy and felt accomplished, the publishing in 2009 was just a bonus.”

The research found the significant change in the balance with orthotic in as opposed to when the orthotic is out.

Corbin is also a part of the National Athletic Training Association, Magna Chuma Lade, a 4.0 graduates, and American College of Sports Medicine.

When Corbin isn’t working she spends time with her pet dog, Jerome, which she named after her favorite Steelers player, Jerome Bettis. Her love for animals is unbreakable. She currently resides in downtown Utica and just down the road from her home she volunteers at Stevens Swan Humane Society in Utica, where she takes care of the animals.

Away from the Utica College, Corbin also works part-time at an inventory company called Regis.

“It’s a pretty easy gig to get extra money, I just go to stores and count their inventory, why not?” she said.

When she isn’t working she lives a pretty exciting and adventurous life; she loves to skydive. Most people are afraid to skydive, but Corbin actually finds it funny that one time her parachute didn’t open and she had to use her emergency chute.

“I hit the ground pretty hard and dislocated my shoulder, but it was pretty fun and comical now that I think back on it,” Dawn said.

Co-worker Christopher Warner really enjoys working with Corbin. He finds her sense humor being a way of getting through his day.

“Dawn is very funny without showing it,” Christopher said. “Dawn can tell a joke with no smile and in her low voice and it’ll still be funny, that’s why I love working with her,” Christopher added.

Kristin Garrity, another Assistant Athletic Director at Utica College since 2015, is also grateful to work with Corbin every day. She also gets a kick out of Dawns “serious” sense of humor.

“Sometime I am the only one laughing when she makes a joke because people take her too serious and I know when she’s being funny and when she isn’t,” Kristin said. “Dawn is Dawn, there is no misunderstanding of how she feels, she speaks her mind and I love it,” Kristin added.

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Utica Athletic Trainers Keep Athletes Game-Ready

Article reposted from The Tangerine
Author: Christian Rodriguez

Utica College has 24 athletic programs and has hundreds of student athletes. With these athletes giving their all, there are times where injuries come into play. Some may be major and some may be minor, but our student athletes seem to be healthy most of the time. This is all thanks to the amazing work by the athletic training staff.

There are three hard working athletic trainers whose only desire when on campus is to keep our athletes healthy. Those great individuals are Assistant Athletic Trainers Kristen Garrity, Dawn Corbin and head trainer, Christopher Warner.

Garrity, a graduate of East Stroudsburg University, joined the UC staff in the fall of 2015 and is the primary trainer for the men’s lacrosse team. What made her become an athletic trainer was the fact that she was always around the trainers as a player herself.

“I was an athlete back in the day and I spent a lot of time in the athletic training room,” Garrity said.

Garrity also says that she loves the atmosphere of the training room. Her favorite part of the job is being able to work with the players from the beginning of the injury to the very end. Her favorite team to work with is the men’s lacrosse team because of the high intensity the sport has. Garrity also is a huge fan of lacrosse, being able to travel with the team, as their primary trainer is just a bonus.

Corbin has been around for several years and has loved every minute of it.

“I love the dynamic atmosphere in the training room and being able to work with athletes from start to finish,” Corbin said. “It’s better than sitting in an office, in my opinion.”

Corbin gets a real kick out of her job. One of her favorite aspects of her job is the relationships she has with her athletes and getting to know them. She also enjoys going to sporting events and watching the Pioneers in action.

Corbin doesn’t have a particular team that she likes to work with,

“I like working with most players,” Corbin said.

Despite not having a favorite team to work with, Corbin does enjoy football because of all the action going on in the game.

“I love football. The high intensity is exciting and there is a lot going on,” Corbin said.

Head Athletic Trainer, Christopher Warner, has been a part of the UC training staff for 10 years. He graduated with a degree in athletic training from Cortland State University in 2004.

His love for completion has led him to where he is today.

“My interest in the athletic training profession is derived from a love of competition and sport, and an interest in science/medicine,” Warner said.

Warner has a true passion for his job. He loves working with each team equally no matter the situation.

“I truly enjoy working with all of the teams here at UC.  Each sport/team presents unique problems to solve, and that keeps my day interesting,” Warner said. “Whether it’s a dislocated finger at hockey practice, or shin pain on the track team, there is always a unique situation arising that needs to be dealt with.”

The highlight of his job is being able to help student athletes set and achieve goals that help to get them back onto the playing surface.

“Seeing an athlete at the point of injury, where they are at their lowest, and then help in the process to build them back up and return them to play is an extremely gratifying and fulfilling experience,” Warner said.

 

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Athletic Trainers: An Integral Part of Utica College Athletics

Article reposted from The Tangerine
Author: Jordan Hughes

The hard work and long hours trainers put in does not go unnoticed. Making sure each athlete is at peak health and ready for competition is not a simple task, one they must perform day in and day out.

You can find them on the sidelines, but most of the time you can catch them in the trainer’s room located in the athletic center. At times, the room is filled wall to wall with student-athletes getting ready for practice or even games.

The trainers offer a variety of services from taping ankles and such to even some physical therapy. They really do take care of the athletes in whatever way they need in order to get them to a state of peak physical condition. If you’re a student athlete here at Utica College and you need anything, be sure to stop by the trainer’s room to get whatever you need.

There are a total of five trainers on campus, not including student trainers that assist them. Each sports team has a trainer assigned to them. The head trainer is Chris Warner and he is the primary trainer for the men’s hockey team and also the softball team. Assistant trainer, Dawn Corbin, is the primary trainer for the football team and also the baseball team.

The other trainers consist of Kristin Garrity, James Murphy and Courtney Crawford. Garrity works directly with the men’s lacrosse team while Murphy works alongside the women’s hockey team. Crawford is the primary athletic trainer for the women’s lacrosse team.

Corbin spends most her time either on the field with both teams or in the office helping out the athletes. Corbin attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania and University of Virginia for her masters in athletic training.

“I like being involved in all parts of the athlete’s experience,” Corbin said.

Student trainers also help out with sports teams, Cassandra Plows and Charlie McAllister are those lucky people. Balancing both school and training can prove to be a challenging task, but getting the experience Is very beneficial. These students have a true passion for athletic training because balancing both school and training isn’t easy. This opportunity is a great one for these two, gaining experience before even graduating.

McAllister is currently a sophomore physical therapy major here at UC. He is also a member of the baseball team. He currently works with the women’s soccer team, this making him a work study for the team.

McAllister travels with the team to all away games and attends every home game where he reports for duty on the sidelines. Working with the team has taught him how to do proper taping techniques. This has surely been an experience he will never forget. He found something he is passionate about and will continue to pursue after he graduates.

“I’d love to do physical therapy for a professional team after I’m all done and graduated,” McAllister said.

Another student trainer is Cassandra Plows, a physical therapy major with hopes to becomes a sports therapist after she graduates. Plows has taken her passion for the world of sports and applied it to her area of study.

“The most rewarding part is working with the teams and treating their injuries,” Plows said.

Currently Plows is about to start working with both the men’s and women’s hockey team, two of the arguably most time demanding teams. Hockey is a tough sport, players take a beating on and off the ice.

Next time you attend a sporting event and see a trainer on the sideline, note this, every player on the field/court has been helped by them in some way. Appreciate them, they work very hard.