Patrick Fergus
@Fergus5Fergus
Athletic Training is a fundamental program at Springfield College. The major is a leading area of study in most graduating classes, with the student-centered focus of the curriculum leading to comprehensive growth and development.
For AT seniors, required research projects highlight their final year, with many unique topics being investigated. From eating disorders to the perception of ATs for club sports athletes, these projects include various aspects such as surveys and clinic-based assessments.
Senior Emma Slater chose her area of interest as the different eating habits of athletes and how these sustenance choices affect their preparation and performance.
“At the core of my research, I am looking to assess how different eating habits fuel athletes’ bodies and how these choices affect injury rate and prevalence,” Slater said.
Her project, titled “The Impact of Orthorexia Nervosa on Division III Collegiate Athletes and the Associated Injuries,” has been a multi-month process.
“I have created a short survey to assess athletes’ eating behaviors and injuries that they have experienced while playing as a collegiate athlete at Springfield College, and at a DIII institution, often I feel like there are not as many considerations made for athletes’ dietary habits,” Slater said.
Slater – who previously worked for both the women’s gymnastics and women’s lacrosse teams – has had the opportunity to build genuine relationships with athletes she’s worked with. This hands-on experience has allowed Slater to gain the confidence and skills she needs for this more complex assignment.
“Working with these teams that are filled with athletes that depend on you, there is a lot of trust that is built, and you learn so much,” Slater said. “There were a lot of nuances to the eating habits.”
Another senior, Jake Hewitt, has taken an interest in one of the ascending problems in the field: mental health in the athletic population.
“Athletic trainers are increasingly learning about treating non-physical injuries, and often, we are the first people there to talk if something happens,” Hewitt said.
Many remember gymnast Simone Biles’ courageous choice to withdraw from portions of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 to focus on her mental health, or tennis superstar Naomi Osaka’s struggle with depression and anxiety after her newfound fame.
“An athlete has to keep themselves mentally strong, or else they can’t perform at their best,” Hewitt said.
A deeper layer of the project is the correlation in mental health between concussed and non-concussed student-athletes. Concussions have been a central talking point around player safety, especially in sports like football. Hewitt wants to explore how brain injuries might impact a player’s psychological well-being.
“I think it’s really important to dig a little deeper on this issue because mental health has become such a critical part of a healthcare worker’s job, and even sometimes a psychological issue can be directly related to the symptoms an athlete might be experiencing,” Hewitt said.
Hewitt learned a love for the training profession from his godfather, who received a degree from Springfield. Routine visits to see him at work only increased his intrigue about becoming an athletic trainer.
Hewitt certainly wants to make his impact in mental health care, as he plans on attending graduate school to further his education in Sports Psychology here at Springfield College.
The importance of off-the-field health can be seen in another senior project that focuses on how much sleep each athlete gets and whether or not it affects their health and performance. Christian Sonnergren is researching a healthy night’s sleep and its numerous benefits.
Although countless studies have been done on poor sleep quality, Sonnergren adds a new facet by testing and analyzing the ramifications of an athlete’s reaction time.
“I’m testing the effects in real-time and in games. This is the best way to discover the connection between the two,” Sonnergren said.
These projects are all examples of pioneering medical practices and knowledge in athletic training, and all three seniors praised the forward-looking direction of the program.
“Everything from the opportunities to the hands-on teaching makes the program truly special,” Sonnergren said.
With manuscripts being written and reviewed during the fall semester, the senior research projects are currently in the data collection phase. A presentation about their findings will be held on April 30.