What happens in the middle of a volleyball game when a player twists their ankle and falls down in pain? What if a cheerleader falls off a pyramid and gets a concussion? The athletic trainers at RIT are a team of five medically-trained professionals who help studentathletes with injury prevention and rehabilitation. They attend sporting events to assess on-site accidents and work with student athletes every day to help get them back in the game.

Amanda Krohn has been a certified athletic trainer for ten years and has been with RIT for the past nine. She explained the main responsibilities of a trainer, which include “evaluating and treating orthopedic injuries, rehab and referring athletes to other physicians.”

The day-to-day tasks vary depending on the athletes they are training and the sports they have to cover. The trainers split the sports between themselves and make sure every game is covered. At home games, they even help out athletes from the other team if they do not have trainers with them.

Through their role, the trainers connect with the students and support them, especially when they are recovering from an injury. The athletic trainers work with the injured athlete to get them back into athletic condition as soon as possible.

"It's rewarding to see someone at the point of their life [recover from an injury], and just see them get back at it," Krohn said.

Unfortunately, there are times when an injury can't heal or be treated as quickly as others. 

“The most difficult thing to do is telling an athlete that they can’t participate,” Krohn said.

According to the National Athletic Trainers Association, universities are the largest employer of athletic trainers. They are employed at all schools with NCAA sports and according to the National Athletic Trainers' Association, "treat and rehabilitate the injuries of more than 460,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 educational institutions across the United States." The responsibilities of athletic trainers vary between schools depending on size, division and sports offered. 

The team of athletic trainers at RIT is small but mighty, and there are even student trainers ready to assist. The student trainers go to games and practices as well and are responsible for providing water, ice and emergency equipment. Physician Assistant and Health and Nutrition students are often drawn to the position, but they hire students from all majors.

Krohn encourages anyone who is interested in becoming an athletic trainer to explore the career. "Get out there and shadow an athletic trainer! See what they do!"

RIT's trainers play an integral role in university athletics and spend every day working hard to get our athletes back in the game!