Athletic Trainer Spotlights

Zack: The most rewarding thing is the relationships I build with these young athletes as they progress throughout high school. Every year, I've had multiple former students come by just to say, "hey," and catch up. It’s always rewarding to hear about their lives and how far they've come since high school.

Zack: After a minor injury, the best piece of advice I can give my athletes is to not get discouraged. I reassure them that they’re not alone as they work to get back to the field or the court, and that I’ll be there for them along the way.

Zack: We are currently using Healthy Roster, a digital injury and treatment tracking system. It gives parents access to their child's injury and return process. It’s imperative that the parent(s) create an account on Healthy Roster for that reason.

Zack: "Be somebody that makes everybody feel like a somebody." Especially in my position, I’ve had several encounters with young people where I might have been the only person in their life that they feel truly cares about them.

Whatever might be going on in my personal life, I always try to keep my perspective that not every athlete is the same. Some athletes need someone to just sit there and listen to their problems about their day or the struggles they’re currently having, whether it’s about athletics, their injury or just life in general. It’s important to see every student-athlete as a whole person.

Ron: I’m a certified and licensed athletic trainer with more than 20 years of experience. I am in the Community Health Department with AdventHealth Palm Coast. I say that I’m 100% employed by AdventHealth, but I mainly work as an outreach athletic trainer at Flagler Palm Coast High School.

AdventHealth and the School District of Flagler County are in partnership to provide varying medical services for the students/athletes. I’m one of two athletic trainers employed this way with AdventHealth Palm Coast.

Ron: On a typical day, my job responsibilities include:

• Applying protective or injury-preventive devices, such as tape, bandages and braces
• Recognizing and evaluating injuries
• Providing first aid or emergency care
• Developing and carrying out rehabilitation programs for injured athletes
• Planning and implementing comprehensive programs to prevent injury and illness among athletes
• Performing administrative tasks, such as keeping records and writing reports on injuries and treatment programs

No day is the same. Some days there may be many athletes I need to care for, depending on the types of events happening and how many.

Ron: Sometimes, athletic trainers act as counselors. We try to learn what’s going on inside an athlete’s mind and how we can use techniques and methods to deal with the mental aspects of injury. I always want an athlete to stay “connected” to their team even if they cannot fully participate.

I also like to work with the athlete/coach and parent/guardian on setting goals for their return. A simple goal could be “by the end of next week, I want to be able to walk without the use of crutches as I recover from my ankle injury.”

Parents and guardians are my partners. I always look to reach out to a parent/guardian when their child is injured. Sometimes a simple call or text can be a doorway to the relationship I’m trying to establish.

From my experience, if we take the time to fully evaluate an injury and give it the rest it effectively needs, most sport-related injuries heal on their own. I also tell athletes, if we just follow some simple guidelines, like Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation (RICE) after an ankle injury, most likely we’ll have a favorable outcome.

Rewards come in all shapes and sizes. One of the greatest rewards I can receive is seeing a student-athlete who was hurt or injured playing their sport again. Seeing them smile as they play and enjoy the competition and know that I played a part in helping that athlete return back to their sport is the best reward. Sometimes a simple “thank you,” “I appreciate you,” or a fist-bump says it all.