Article reposted from The Marietta Times
Author: Nathaniel Miller
The Long Blue Line is visible in professional baseball and arena football as two recent graduates of the Marietta College Athletic Training program have accepted full-time training positions with the Washington Wild Things baseball team and the Cleveland Gladiators football team.
Aimee Cline, a 2014 Marietta College graduate from Rittman, joined the Cleveland Gladiators for the 2016 season as Athletic Trainer, a position that is being vacated by Jeff Lambert-Shemo at the end of the year. Jessica Brogan graduated from Marietta College in 2015 and joined the Washington Wild Things for the 2016 summer season as Head Athletic Trainer.
The Gladiators are a professional arena football team based in Cleveland that competes in the National Conference of the Arena Football League. Cline said she was asked to come on board as the result of a conversation she had with Lambert-Shemo regarding other positions.
Photo submitted
Aimee Cline (front left corner)?graduated in 2014 from Marietta College’s Athletic Training program and was offered the Athletic Trainer position for the Cleveland Gladiators in 2016. The Gladiators are an arena football team that plays in the National Conference of the Arena Football League.
“I was interviewing with Jeff about future positions in the NovaCare network and we talked about my background in football and how I truly enjoyed working that sport. A few days following our conversation I had an interview with the team physician and the following day I was offered the position,” said Cline.
In addition to her athletic training education from Marietta College, Cline obtained a masters degree in athletic training from Ohio University and believes that her education and the professional relationships that she has gathered was the solid foundation that set her up for success in this new position.
“While obtaining my masters from Ohio University, I was Head Athletic Trainer at Wellston High School,” explained Cline. “Both of my degrees aided in my appointment, however, I truly believe Marietta College gave me the strong foundation of the Athletic Trainer I am today and I believe that program contributed a great deal to my success.”
Fact Box
Two female Marietta College graduates recently became Athletic Trainers for professional sports teams.
Aimee Cline graduated from the Athletic Training program at Marietta College in 2014 and joined the Cleveland Gladiators Arena Football Team at the beginning of 2016.
Jessica Brogan graduated from the Marietta College Athletic Training program in 2015 and is serving as the Head Athletic Trainer for the Washington Wild Things, a minor league baseball team based in Washington, Pa.
For more information on the sports teams and to read a bio about Cline or Brogan, visit washingtonwildthings.com or clevelandgladiators.com.
Source: Times research.
Cline is the first and only female athletic trainer in the Arena Football League and said she worried at first how she might be treated, but that it has been a very positive experience.
“My team and coaching staff are fantastic to work with and no one treats me differently for being a female. I was accepted from day one,” said Cline.
Brogan joined the Washington Wild Things only a few days prior to their 2016 summer season. The Wild Things are a minor league baseball team from Washington, Pa., and compete in the Frontier League. Brogan said she may not be the only or first female athletic trainer in minor league baseball, but there was definitely an adjustment period with her teammates.
“I have worked with men’s teams before, both as an undergrad at Marietta and as a graduate assistant at Washington and Jefferson College, so for me it’s just doing my job,” said Brogan, who is originally from Cincinnati. “I had to earn a certain level of respect from the guys, but after I successfully and quickly returned a player to the game they realized I was here to keep them on the field. Now it doesn’t even phase them.”
Brogan keeps a hectic schedule as the Wild Things play a game every night except Mondays during the summer and are often playing multiple series games back to back, which can make getting into a routine difficult.
“I provide pre-game, post-game and immediate care for the team and travel with them to every game. My main job is to keep everyone healthy and in the game,” said Brogan. “It was hard to adapt to the schedule at first when you are in a different place every three days, but I have finally figured out a system works for me.”
Brogan also has a masters degree from California University of Pennsylvania and plans on moving on to physical therapy school as well. Like Cline, Brogan said she feels that her Marietta College experience directly contributed to her success in her current position.
“Being a MC grad has helped me a lot in my career. The Division III network is pretty small and many of my supervisors knew that Marietta College had a reputation for a top-notch Athletic Training program,” said Brogan. “I think that reputation made them expect more from me, which helped me grow really quickly into this position.”
Both women indicated they see these positions as only the beginning. Cline said she hopes to stay in professional sports and specifically to travel with a team as a trainer because she enjoys the single-team atmosphere, while Brogan plans to continue her education to obtain a doctorate in physical therapy while also working as an athletic trainer at a Division III school.
“Having this experience on my resume alongside graduating from Marietta College will help me tremendously in this profession,” said Brogan. “I have had the opportunity to network with several other trainers and doctors associated with the league and it has opened up so many doors for me. I’m excited to see what’s next.”
Learn more about Cline and the Cleveland Gladiators at clevelandgladiators.com or Brogan and the Washington Wild Things at washingtonwildthings.com.