Employee Spot light

March is National Athletic Training Month. Therefore, we are spotlighting our amazing ATCs! Their names don’t appear on the stat sheets or the “Greatest Moments” highlight reels, but their presence and performance at critical moments is crucial to the safety of the athletes of any level that they watch both on the eld at a youth event, sports stadium and on TV. Recent events, like the life-saving care provided for the Bu alo Bills safety Damar Hamlin and the Army hockey players, have brought the profession of athletic training into the media spotlight.

Currently, PTSMC provides athletic trainers to secondary schools across CT and each are essential to the success of those high school athletics programs. To get to know PTSMC's athletic trainers better, we asked them to share about their careers, proud and memorable moments on the job, and their thoughts on the future of athletic training.

CAREER PATHS:

Keaton Mangi (New London) joined PTSMC in the Fall of 2021 after graduating with a Master of Science in Athletic Training from Sacred Heart University. He is the athletic trainer for Waterford High School. “During my career so far I have had the experience of working with a multitude of sports and athletes in the high school setting, rehab in the clinic setting, observed orthopedic surgeries, and worked with the CT State Police Academy. All of these experiences have boosted my con dence in relationships, critical thinking, decision making and resilience.”

Sam Donahue (Guilford) completed a clinical rotation at North Branford High School while working on his degree at Quinnipiac University. He joined us in 2017 to take over as the athletic trainer at NBHS. Jenna Bou ard (Watertown) completed a clinical rotation during her time at SCSU, with our very own Erik Lanese (Waterbury) at Holy Cross High School. Jenna joined PTSMC in 2016 as the athletic trainer for Watertown High School.

PROUD MOMENTS:

PTSMC’s athletic trainers have had some outstanding accomplishments, starting with, Jenna Bou ard was named the best female Athletic Trainer in the Naugatuck Valley League in October 2017. Additionally, Erik Lanese was named the Donald Bagnall Secondary School Athletic Trainer of the Year in 2020. Sam Donahue shared, “My greatest memory as an AT is winning the state championship with the eld hockey team. Seeing the blood sweat and tears of a team come to fruition is extremely rewarding.”

EMBARASSING OR FUNNY MOMENTS:

Keaton and Sam weren’t afraid to share their most embarrassing moment. In his rst year as athletic trainer at Waterford High School, Keaton said a seagull dropped “a gift” on his head while he was talking to the track coach and a group of athletes! Sam shared that one year during preseason football, a pair of his khaki shorts got caught and ripped. In both moments, there’s not much else you can do but laugh!

WHAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ATHLETIC TRAINERS:

PTSMC ATCs were asked “What is the one thing you want people to know about what it meant to be an AT?” In all responses, they emphasized that being an AT means being a skilled healthcare provider and an integral part of the multi-disciplinary sports medicine team equipped with the knowledge and ability to provide preventative and emergency care.

Jenna explained, “Some people might think Athletic Trainers just sit and watch sporting events”, and that is far from the reality. “Our profession is very unpredictable, some days we’re watching the game and other days we don’t have time to catch our breath. We’re always prepared for any emergency event and we know how to react within seconds.”

Keaton echoed Jenna’s thoughts, “I want people to know that we can o er a consistent day-to-day impact in the lives of others and are an essential force in providing immediate care in emergency situations that can be the di erence in saving people’s lives.”

THE CURRENT “STATE OF THE PROFESSION”:

Athletic training certi cations have transitioned from requiring a Bachelors to a Masters degree within the past few years. Because of this increased schooling requirement, there are less people pursuing athletic trainers. Simultaneously, the need for athletic trainers at all levels of sport has increased due to the heightened awareness of the job.

Sam agreed that, “With the athletic training degree being changed to a 6-year program, there are going to be signi cantly less athletic trainers coming out of school. So for the current athletic trainer, it puts us at a premium. However, for the profession as a whole, I’m worried about it in the long term.”

March Birthdays

Donna Baribault 1 Admin

Cameron Whalen 1 Middletown

Lindsey Scianna 1 Watertown

Samantha Jarry 2 Essex

Heather Marosz 3 Middletown

Alison Pearce 4 Admin

Pat Kinsella 4 Guilford

Jeremy Mercier 4 Southington

Olivia Schaub 6 Simsbury

Tom Kirsch 8 Avon

Mackenzie Anderson 8 Essex

Katie Scalora 9 Shelton

Kera Thorne 10 Danbury

Morgan Go 10 East Hampton

Michelle Madorran 10 New Milford

Danielle Pilgrim 10 New Milford

Kimoy Osorio 11 Admin

Taylor Modzelewski 11 Branford

Angela Riehl 12 Guilford

Zack Currie 12 Guilford

Lauren Jameson 12 New Haven

Dave Lawrence 13 Admin

Julianne Balavender 13 Admin

Jared Schi er 13 Wallingford

Sara Miller 13 Plainville/Wethers eld

Kevin Howard 14 Orange

Amanda Leiss 14 Wallingford

Katie Redman 14 West Hartford

Beverly Roche 15 Southbury

Danielle Ja er 15 Southington

Nancy Chilson 16 Avon

Je Hoerst 16 Glastonbury

Karin Larsen 19 Groton

Micah Lee 19 Guilford

Caidyn Galovich 21 East Hampton

Tyler Carmen 21 Wallingford

Jenna Bou ard 21 Watertown

Amanda Baldwin 21 Westbrook

Sarah Sommer 21 Windsor

Terran Travis 23 Lock St

Brian O'Dea 23 Newington

Jamie Collimore 23 Southington

Heather Feiner 24 Admin

Liannie Negron 24 Naugatuck

Shelby Deep 24 Watertown

Lauren Cummins 24 West Hartford

Ted Raczka 26 Branford

Annemarie Gigante

March Anniversaries

Jill Cristaldi Physical Therapist Wethers

Keaton provided a positive spin with his outlook, “I believe that the profession is moving in a positive direction. The shortage of athletic trainers and recent recognition has shined a spotlight on how valuable and in-demand athletic trainers are. Salaries and aspects of work life balance are improving as well.”

Thank you to all the PTSMC athletic trainers for their commitment and hard work for their respective schools and athletes!

Director