Heading into game day, the athletic trainer focus turns to more of a specified area.  Instead of a overview care and attention to every sport, it turns to one specific area.

For Kristen Johnson, Head Southern Oregon University Athletic Trainer, she turns her focus to the SOU wrestling team.

For Johnson, she typically arrives to the school two hours before the start of competition; to give the home squad an hour before warm-ups to be taped, iced and prepare for competition.

There is no rehab during this time, as the rehab focus typically occurs earlier in the day rather than during the event to give the athletic trainers and team’s to focus on the event ahead.

On Saturday, that means rehab for athlete’s happen that morning with Johnson arriving to the training room for the wrestling match at four in the afternoon.

4 p.m.

It is quiet, typically for a wrestling match said Johnson because wrestlers don’t require as much of the nesscary care as most of the other sports might need.

Some do come in though to ice.

“Icing before the match?” asked Brock Guches.

“Got to wake up for it,” said Mitchell Lofsedt.

“Why don’t you take a energy drink?” I asked.

The wrestlers laughed.

“It weighs you down,” said another wrestler.

Johnson would come out to talk to Guches a few minutes prior.

“Is it ok for me to ice?” he asked.

“What for?” Johnson asked.

“My ankle.”

“You wanna stem?”

“Maybe later.”

“Stem” or “Steming” is stimulation to work out inflammation from a joint.

4:55pm

“Time to go do these skin checks.” said Johnson walking into the locker room full of wrestlers.

In wrestling, the athletic trainer is required to check for any staph infections, ring-worm, or a break out of herpes.  Any signs of any infection, the wrestler can not participant.

Everyone passes the skin checks.

As weigh in starts, Johnson walks back into the training room to take up equipment and water jugs up with her assistants.

Up in the basketball court, where the match is taking part at, Johnson and her assistants set up the gear next to the SOU bench.

Then it becomes a waiting game.

As the SOU and Pacific University, their opponent tonight, warm-up and begin the match, Johnson and her assistant’s just stand behind the SOU bench, waiting to be called up to help.

Then some action starts up.

Tyler Thomas needed some knots worked out in his right shoulder; with her hands Johnson massages his shoulder for five minutes before his match at the 184-pound level.

A few players had busted up and bloody noses that required the match to be held up as the athlete’s were attended to.

The match finishes up without any major hiccups, as the wrestlers meet up with friends and family, Johnson and her assistant take the water jugs and the equipment back down to the athletic training room, where Johnson will wait another 30 minutes to another hour to see if anyone needs any ice or taping from the match.

The athletic trainer is the first response to the athletic world, from the high school level all the way up to the professional- and Olympic-levels.

To help make sure the athlete is ready to perform at their best and to inform the coaches of any serious problems that might affect their team.  They aren’t doctor’s, but they have enough knowledge and training to get the athlete’s to the right people, at the right times.

Part 1:  https://jmac1989.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/day-in-the-life-series-athletic-trainer-part-1/