To the seven senior athletic trainers at McCallum, being an athletic trainer means learning how to prevent injuries, help athletes recover, experience new challenges, be successful under pressure, and be there for athletes in any way that they need. Throughout their time as McCallum athletic trainers, the trainers learn about various parts of the body and body systems, which helps them in aiding the various athletes.
According to one of the head athletic trainers, Annmarie Reynolds, all of the trainers are proficient in providing first aid and basic taping techniques such as ankles and wrists. They are also all certified in CPR.
“They get along well with all the athletes, which is great for when they travel to away games and get to help the teams with taping and first aid,” Reynolds said. “They are all such a joy to be around and are all interested in different avenues of health professions, which is really cool to discuss with them. They are all very creative students and they’re just such great people.”
Senior Estefani Tevalan has always had an interest in the medical field but didn’t know anything about it, so she decided to join.
“Everything was a surprise to me, but if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t think twice about joining again,” Tevalan said. “I’ve always been fascinated by the human body and how it works. However, my main goal in life is to travel the world, offer my skills to those in need, and ensure people know that someone cares.”
Tevalan has been in sports medicine for two years now; over that time, she has come to appreciate how strong the community is.
“My favorite part about being an athletic trainer is the teamwork,” she said. “We never do anything alone, and it’s just fun vibes.”
Football season is Tevalan’s favorite part of the year because of the energy that surrounds it all, including the pep rallies and dress-up days.
“I just like being put in action, especially being assigned to the sidelines because we have to run to the field and give the athletes water,” Tevalan said. “Sometimes we have to wrap them because they’re bleeding, and it’s just hyped.”
Being an athletic trainer, however, also comes with late nights and early mornings. Depending on which sport an athletic trainer is assigned to, they can get home as late as 10-11 p.m. For first-year athletic trainer senior Sophia Ramsay, early morning football practice requires her to be at school at 7 a.m., so she gets up around 6:15. Despite this early start time, Ramsay will greatly miss the experiences and getting to be on the sidelines with the players.
Like Tevalan, Ramsay wanted to become an athletic trainer because she was interested in becoming a sports physical therapist.
“I love learning about how to prevent and treat injuries, and I’m really curious about the body and how different sports affect it,” Ramsay said.
Ramsay’s favorite part of being an athletic trainer is the connection she’s made with the other athletic trainers and some of the athletes.
First-year athletic trainer senior Mariana Silva also acknowledges the bonds that have been created between the trainers throughout the year.
“[Being a trainer] has taught me lots of new skills I never knew I had, and has helped me learn teamwork alongside the best teammates,” Silva said.
Silva saw sports medicine as a way to become more involved at school and make new friends.
“I wanted to become an athletic trainer because I saw it as an opportunity to participate in school activities, and I saw it as something that could be fun,” she said. “But I also wanted the experience and chance of learning something medical to see if I was potentially into it.”
Senior Analicia Sanchez is also a first-year athletic trainer who joined because she was interested in going into the medical field after high school.
“I wanted to become an athletic trainer to make new friends, and I also want to go into the healthcare field, so it’s a great way to start,” Sanchez said. “I wanted to become an RN at the beginning of the year, but after some consideration, I decided I wanted to become a dental hygienist.”
To Sanchez, being an athletic trainer means being ready to help whenever help is needed.
“Being an athletic trainer means to want to make a difference in every athlete’s life,” she said. “As soon as you get on that field you’re up and ready to help.”
While athletic trainers are attending to a team consisting of athletes, they are also a team that needs to work together to get a certain task done.
“My favorite part about being an athletic trainer is being able to have a team of my own and have everyone support each other,” Sanchez said. “It’s nice to know you can have a group of people you can rely on.”
To fellow first-year trainer senior Gabie Rodriguez, being an athletic trainer means helping athletes perform at their best while staying healthy and safe.
“It’s about combining knowledge of the human body with a passion for sports to prevent injuries, treat them effectively and support recovering in a way that gets people back to doing what they love,” Rodriguez said.
Joining sports medicine this year was brought on by Rodriguez’s passion for sports and health.
“I wanted a career that allowed me to stay involved in athletics while helping others,” she said. “I’m driven by the opportunity to support athletes through injury prevention, treatment and recovery. Being part of their journey back to peak performance is incredibly rewarding.”
Seniors Trinity Ritcherson and Brianna Miller are both athletic trainers who have been a part of the sports medicine program since their junior year.
For Ritcherson, keeping athletes at ease and comfortable is the aim of athletic trainers.
“Being an athletic trainer to me means helping others and making the McCallum athletes feel supported and secure,” Ritcherson said. “You have to be easily accessible, if there’s any needs or concerns regarding injuries or physical problems, or just being directly on the field or at games/practices.”
Miller appreciates the help that the trainers are able to provide to players but also the ability to see and learn about the behind-the-scenes processes.
“To me, [being an athletic trainer] means having the chance to help out athletes, whether it’s as little as giving a Band-Aid or providing water,” Miller said. “It’s also a good learning experience, we get to see behind the scenes and learn about certain health aspects as well.”
Due to the fact that there are seven senior trainers leaving this year, and there are only a total of 10 trainers in the program this year, only three are going to remain after graduation.
“Moving forward without them will be difficult at first because they’re all great people,” Reynolds said. “But thankfully, we have three great students returning next year, and we are in the process of interviewing new students to be a part of the program for next year as well.”
Looking back at this year as a whole, Reynolds said that the Athletic Trainer Olympics at Georgetown High School on March 5 has been one of her favorite things that the whole sports medicine program has done together. This event includes over 400 athletic training students from 29 different schools competing in games such as how fast you can carry a cooler for 25 yards for prizes. McCallum ended up getting seventh place.
“The whole team was very excited to compete in the games and just gave the students a little reprieve from all the help they give throughout the year,” Reynolds said.
Matt Johnson, another head athletic trainer, pointed out that the football game against Bastrop was his favorite moment. The lights went out at the football stadium in Bastrop, so a few of the athletic trainers started playing tag in the dark.
Some advice that the head athletic trainers have for the seven graduating trainers is to not worry about getting into a prestigious university and to enjoy their time in college.
“Be open to learning about anything and everything you’re interested in because you never get to try all these new things again,” Reynolds said. “Don’t overload yourself the first semester; just learn how to be an adult by yourself and in college. Have the best time and be safe!”
