Patrick Fergus
@Fergus5Fergus
The squeaking of the sneakers on the hardwood floor, the blowing of the whistle or the roar of the crowd often hold the attention of those who attend events like the Hoophall Classic. However, for a select few, their job is to guard the health and safety of those on the hardwood.
This past Hoophall, Springfield College’s Athletic Training Program provided services to the top high school players for the first time in the occasion’s history. The talented trainers who occupied the space behind the benches, closely watched for any scratch, grimace, heavy fall or twisted ankle.
Along with Christa Carr, a graduate student, Assistant Professor of Athletic Training Kelsey Rynkiewicz took on the challenges of handling such a significant event with just a couple of available bodies.
“It is a lot,” said Rynkiewicz. “You’re watching the court, and maybe at the same you’re getting tape for an athlete…always kind of busy.”
The two trainers split up the long days of basketball into shifts, and while Rynkiewicz has experience working these larger events, the fact that the college was hosting Hoophall allowed for a smoother process.
“For events like this, it’s asking questions ahead of time, like do they have ice, a splint kit or whatever you may need,” Rynkiewicz said. “Because we both work here, we knew what was available and already had the potential emergency processes in place.”
The team was prepared for the fastest way to get an ambulance to the arena if a serious injury did occur and made sure that an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) was on standby.
With the preventive facet of athletic training not as prevalent in this scenario, Rynkiewicz maintained a rigid focus on the players’ health and comfort before, during and after their games. She emphasized always being ready for any treatment that is needed.
Of course, certain athletic undertakings lend themselves to a specific type of injury. An athletic trainer can usually keep a watchful eye on some of the usual suspects. The most common injuries in football or lacrosse are much different from those in a sport like basketball.
“I think what you end up seeing a lot of [in basketball] are ankles, so you’d always have a pair of crutches ready,” Rynkiewicz said. “It can also be a bit bloody, whether that be getting hit in the nose or scratches throughout the game.”
An experience with so much to keep track of can be a big learning opportunity, something Rynkiewicz has always gravitated toward. In high school, she liked the idea of teaching, as well as learning about the anatomy of the human body. The discovery of a valuable mixture of the two in athletic training as a career was an epiphany.
“There was that ability to teach, which was really something that caught my interest, and then it was the parts of the body I enjoyed learning about,” Rynkiewicz said.
Jessica Barrett, the Chair of the Department of Athletic Training at Springfield, recognizes the importance for AT program students to have firsthand experience in on-the-job training.
“There’s compelling research that says for athletic training students, 50% of what they learn is actually in the clinical side, or more,” Barrett said.
There is no shortage of opportunities to obtain that direct education on campus, with numerous NCAA and NEWMAC tournament games providing critical stages for their theoretical knowledge to be put to the test.
“We’re putting them into situations that they’re going to see when they’re certified professionals,” Barrett said. “The more that we can prepare them in that way, the better job we’re doing as educators.”
Both Rynkiewicz and Barrett acknowledged that the personal work of athletic trainers, who build trusting relationships through countless one-on-one sessions with athletes, can be translated into situations with larger teams or organizations.
The differences and similarities between the scale of the work, such as an event like Hoophall that has so many different athletes with their own unique intricacies, is a fundamental aspect of the curriculum.
“We have classes that range from ten students to a hundred,” Rynkiewicz said. “A preceptor, or a clinical educator, provides that one-on-one teaching, and that can be translated from a small team to a large team.”
When it comes to applying that knowledge from the classroom and the lab, Rynkiewicz underscored the importance of confidence and falling back on education.
“Trusting your skills, and knowing you can utilize them,” Rynkiewicz said. “That’s something I tell a lot of students who are graduating, because sometimes there’s a level of uncertainty.”
For Barrett and the department as a whole, the potential of having students be involved in a noteworthy event such as Hoophall is not lost on them.
“It’s a great thing for our program to start using as promotion,” she said. “You could be on the sidelines of this premier basketball opportunity.”
Although Hoophall had always previously hired outside health professionals, Barrett is determined to continue to provide AT’s from in-house. She envisions a rotation of students for the long days of basketball action.
“We were able to have Kelsey act as our first liaison, and kind of see what it’s like,” Barrett said. “It would be really cool to give students that exposure to that type of event.”
Photo Courtesy of Springfield College