For Anna Strines, student athletic trainer and junior, a love for sports medicine started early in life. 

“I always say that I grew up in a football family,” Strines said. “I’ve always loved sports, and I’ve always loved football specifically. I used to always go to my brothers’ games when they played in high school, and I always saw people running around on the field. I was intrigued by how a girl got on the field, and my brothers told me that they were the athletic trainers. I decided that would be a lot of fun.”

Strines did not stay on the sidelines for long, instead opting to help the players and athletic trainers on the field.

“I emailed the head athletic trainer at high school when I was still in eighth grade, and she put me on football duty,” Strines said. “Ever since then, I’ve fallen in love with (athletic training).”

Strines is one of many students interested in the expanding field of athletic training. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in athletic training positions is expected to grow 13% by 2030, signaling relatively rapid industry growth. 

Every March, medical professionals across the nation recognize Athletic Training Month, which is meant to spread awareness of the important work done by athletic trainers. Athletic trainer Ashley Martin said her responsibilities on and off the field are diverse. 

“Athletic training is an array of things,” Martin said. “As athletic trainers, we take care of injury prevention, evaluations of injuries and rehab of injuries. We also are the emergency response team usually for athletic events.”

Coursework

In order to pursue a career in athletic training, Strines began taking relevant coursework, which she said was a crucial first step.

“IB sports definitely opened my eyes to what sports medicine is,” Strines said. “I took Sports Medicine when it was still a class back in my sophomore year, but IB sports goes into different aspects. It not only explores anatomy, bones and everything that goes into the physical part, but we also go over units like statistics; we go over neurons and everything that goes into being an athlete and being involved in the athletic field—not just the medicine part.”

Martin said colleges provide numerous paths, consisting of different courses, to obtaining an athletic training degree. Yet, she also emphasized recently implemented restrictions. 

Martin said, “To become an athletic trainer, you now have to have a master’s degree; so you get an undergrad (degree) in kinesiology, exercise science or different things like that. Then you’ll apply for an athletic training program. Once you complete that, you sit for your boards of certification. After that, you’ll be able to practice as an athletic trainer. Each state usually has a licenser you have to go through as well.”

Hands-On Experience

Despite the interesting content in her coursework, Anika Sarkar, student athletic trainer and junior, said classroom learning was not the only part of her immersion in sports medicine.

Sarkar said, “I’m taking IB Sports and Medicine right now; I’m in a lot of other science classes, and I’m also doing football athletic training, which gives me the hands-on shadowing experience that I need.”

Sarkar said engaging in athletic training responsibilities has provided her invaluable skills. 

“We don’t have very much time between periods, and we’re just learning how to get their wounds bandaged up so that they can go play for the rest of their period,” Sarkar said. “We have to do a lot of things on the fly, so I’m learning how to work in high stress situations.”

Additionally, Strines said she was mastering the fundamental responsibilities of injury prevention.

“I would say I’m proud of my taping,” Strines said. “I do very basic taping because that’s really what I’m only supposed to do without a professional, but I’ve gotten quite good at taping. I’m pretty fast at it now.”

Strines also said she was shadowing athletic trainers at a collegiate level, observing the complexities of sports medicine in more competitive situations.

“I have been shadowing at different places and colleges that offer an athletic training program,” Strines said. “I get to see what they get to do and what it’s like at a collegiate level.”

Yet, despite the benefits of shadowing, Strines said she also faced challenges while pursuing her passion.

“I definitely, in very minute ways, sense that a lot of people don’t respect or appreciate what the student trainers do because we’re not certified. They view us as just a water girl,” Strines said. “Yes, we do provide water, but to gain respect, I don’t let people walk all over me. Because I work with male sports, I gain respect by asserting myself and being confident in what I’m there for, rather than letting them walk all over me because they view me as the help.”

Beyond Physical Medicine

Martin said staying true to her core values as an athletic trainer meant supporting her athletes any way she could.

“When you’re going through school, you learn about different responsibilities and the core values of athletic training, but really, we’re here to take care of the athletes and their needs,” Martin said. “So whatever an athlete needs, we’re there to advocate for them.”

Sarkar said ensuring the mental well-being of athletes is imperative.

“(When I become an athletic trainer), I really want to focus on the mental health of athletes because I think that’s super overlooked,” Sarkar said. “While it’s not a physical issue that athletic trainers have to work on, I think it’s super important to build a bond with all your athletes to understand what they’re going through. Oftentimes, injuries don’t have to be physical to be important.”

To illustrate her point, Sarkar said the athletic training culture at this school helped her realize how to incorporate mental health support into athletic training.

“We’ve definitely had some athletes who struggle with their injuries and coming back, and we’ve always given them a safe space to talk,” Sarkar said. “We help them understand that until they’re mentally ready to go back, it doesn’t matter how they are physically. They have to be mentally ready to join back in the game because football is a huge mental sport. Our lead athletic trainer, Chad, has always placed a huge emphasis on making sure athletes were able to talk through how they were feeling and advocate for themselves when they needed it.”

Ultimately, Strines said through her shadowing experience, she learned athletic training was about so much more than promoting athletes’ physical health.

“An athletic trainer really serves as more than the physical, therapeutic and rehabilitative support,” Strines said. “They also serve as more of a mental coach too. I’ve seen a lot of players form bonds with the students (trainers) as well as the professionals. They grow close to those professionals, and they start to confide in them. It’s like they also serve as a counselor, and it’s just something that I never thought would be a part of it. You become more involved in their lives and their athletics beyond their physical performance.”