Trainers provide crutch to lean on

photo by Liz Lucsko

After graduating from Cal Lutheran's class of 1997, Tim Nausin was hired at La Verne as an assistant athletic trainer in August 2001. Nausin checks Tanisha Buckley's range of motion and strength after a calf strain on Tuesday. Nausin is assigned as a personal trainer for the women's soccer and basketball teams, and men's and women's track and field.

by Matt Paulson
Staff Writer

"The mission of (the National Athletic Trainers Association) is to enhance the quality of health care for athletes and those engaged in physical activity, and to advance the profession of athletic training through education and research in the prevention, evaluation, management and rehabilitation of injuries."

According to the website of the NATA, this mission should be the ultimate goal of all athletic trainers and the institutions at which they are educated. It is among the duties of both trainers and institutions to take all necessary steps in order to fulfill this mission.

At the University of La Verne, these steps are taken with wholehearted alacrity by the athletic training staff and the students they teach.

But, before these steps will be taken, as in every profession, there is an internal process through which one must navigate as he decides to pursue that career.

In athletic training, there is almost always an event that triggers an interest in the field, says Athletic Training Clinical Experience Supervisor Paul Alvarez.

As a college student and track athlete, Alvarez was concentrating on both physical education and sports science as a result of an adviser's advice when he injured himself in the steeplechase. Seeing what the trainers at his school did for him and others in this situation, Alvarez decided to concentrate mainly on athletic training as a career path, even though he would eventually receive his California teaching credential in physical education.

For Tim Nausin, assistant athletic trainer, this came in his second of four years as a soccer player at Cal Lutheran.

"I had a severe ankle injury my sophomore year. It made me want to go into physical therapy," said Nausin, who, later on in college, realized that he did not want to work with just any physical therapy patients, but strictly athletes. He continued to reiterate Alvarez's point that most trainers will decide on their vocation through some experience some time around college.

No matter how the decision is made to become an athletic trainer, one must become a professional, and this is no cakewalk. First, a minimum of a bachelor's degree must be earned. Second, the NATA board of certification exam must be taken and passed. Finally, says Alvarez, in order to be successful at the college level, a master's degree is helpful.

After becoming a part of this career, there are obviously ups and downs of athletic training.

Alvarez said the best part of being a trainer is "affiliation with the athletes. We like sports."

In addition to this, Alvarez explained the rewards of being a part of the process by which an athlete works through to become part of the competition again.

"We get to see what the athletes go through to get back on the field," he said.

Nausin expressed that the best part of the job for him is that it "doesn't seem like work. It's something that I really enjoy doing."

As in any field, disadvantages must accompany the advantages. So it is in athletic training.

Alvarez explained the worst part for him is the absolute dedication to so many sports when trying to keep family the No. 1 priority in his life. The time constraints sometimes make it nearly impossible to achieve this.

Another downfall to the profession is "dealing with the inevitable, with injury, when you're trying to get someone back and they reinjure it. It's a fact of life and that's frustrating," Nausin said.

Through the efforts of the training staff and faculty including, in addition to Alvarez and Nausin, Director of Athletic Training Education Marilyn Oliver, Athletic Training Faculty Member Deborah Parsons, Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer Beth Thompson and Head Athletic Trainer Jim May, ULV is in its two-year process through which it must venture in order to obtain Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs acceptance.

CAAHEP is an organization that gives an athletic training institution or program a seal that basically tells it, "you meet the standards of other CAAHEP accredited programs."

A part of the new programs set forth during the two-year process, says Alvarez, is spending time in the training room with the athletic training students observing actual treatment for real injuries. Alvarez explains what the trainer is doing and why without interrupting or bothering the trainer or the athlete thus providing concrete examples for students without impeding upon the healing progress of the athletes. This would not be possible without the additional faculty hired in response to the CAAHEP trial.

As a professional in the field, apart from her institution of employment, an athletic trainer holds the ability to be a part of the NATA. The NATA was founded in 1950 by about 200 members in Kansas City. Now, about 27,000 members strong, the NATA's headquarters reside in Dallas, Texas.

Alvarez expressed that there is no need to be a part of this organization; it is simply a way to become better connected to one's field and fellow professionals. It is for trainers with an "interest of interacting with their colleagues," said Alvarez, which is the "mark of a good professional."

The student-athletes at ULV are not normally concerned with whether their trainers are a part of NATA or if the program is CAAHEP accredited, they simply want to get help with their injuries and get back on the playing field. And, according to the student-athletes interviewed, the Leopard trainers excel at doing just that.

"We've got the best training staff I've ever seen," said freshman baseball player Nick Cummings. "They're very knowledgeable. They explain what they are doing and how it is helping you. They are one of the reasons our teams are so successful."

As an athlete, said junior and former football player Isau Graves, it is always a goal to stay out of the training room. But when that is not possible and one is forced to seek treatment, the staff at ULV is "helpful and organized. They do a pretty good job overall," said Graves.

Senior men's volleyball team captain Nate Michael, in response to his satisfaction with the training room staff, said, "Over my past couple of years at La Verne, I've really gotten to know some of the trainers. They always go the extra mile to help you out on and off the court."

Amy Smith, who suffered a season-ending torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament tear in the women's volleyball National Championship match and has spent countless hours in the training room as a result, singled out Thompson as her main reason for recovery, "Beth is very goal-oriented. She knows where you should be at what point and she'll do all she can to get you there. She's very focused on the task at hand," said Smith.

No matter who the trainer; no matter what the injury; trainers keep athletes in good health. That is why March was National Athletic Training Month. Even though March has recently concluded, it would be cordial, as an athlete, to show appreciation to anyone who has helped keep one's cleats on the gridiron, pitch or basepath, or shoes on the court at ULV.