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THE METROPOLITAN | THE EXTRAORDINAIRE | THE TOURIST | THE ARTIST | THE CRITIC | THE DINER | THE CRAFTMASTER | THE HIGHROLLER | THE GLADIATOR | THE YOUNGSTER | THE SHOWMAN | THE NIGHTOWL | THE THINKER
WARMING UP FOR THE
GAME
OF LIFE Mesa students stretch as the Rattlers strive to repeat title
Alison Bailin Batz » The Entertainer!
T
he five-time Arena Football League Champion Arizona Rattlers have a secret weapon off the field—local students. “Since 2006, the Rattlers have partnered with Carrington College’s Mesa campus and its physical therapy technology program to offer students hands-on work with the team’s athletes both before and after games each season,” says Rattlers coach Kevin Guy. “I can say—without a doubt—their hard work has helped our team physically and mentally both on and off the field.” Through this partnership, Rattlers players visit the Mesa campus each Monday for postgame athletic massages and stretching. Most often, it is focused on reducing inflammation and edema caused by the weekend’s games. Then, each Thursday during the season, as many as 10 students travel to the Rattlers’ training facility to provide pregame therapies. “Athletes often push themselves beyond the normal limits of the human body,” says Carrington student Richard Abisia. “In order to win, they have to be in tiptop condition mentally and physically. Like motorized vehicles, the human body is a fine-tuned machine that requires regular maintenance. If maintenance is not done, the body suffers just like cars do. That is where we come in.” Students are prepared for this testing ground by successfully entering the basic areas of study in anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, human movement and movement disorders. WWW.ENTERTAINERMAG.COM
“We have students who also end up doing their full externship rotations with the club, meaning they perform 180 or more hours serving as sports medicine interns assisting the head athletic trainer, says Phil Schauer, Physical Therapy Technology program director at the Mesa campus. “These students actively learn skills that will prepare them for a transition into a health care field including everything from ultrasound to electrical stimulation therapy to even therapeutic and preventative taping and cryotherapy.” According to Schauer, they are focused on providing a broad base of knowledge covering issues related to the muscles, bones, nerves, ligaments and tendons. “The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that employment for qualified physical therapist assistants is expected to increase by about 40% from 2014 to 2024. The need is real, so the training needs to be set in both the real world as well as the classroom,” Schauer says. Schauer also notes that there is nothing that compares to the hands-on experience that students get working on elite athletes. “Going in knowing that you’re working on people who are idolized— and that your mission is to help them to perform even better—is a great feeling. You have a little added pressure at first, but once you get to know the players they are just like everyone else. I personally am still working on my niche in life and these players have already found theirs. It’s an inspiration,” says student Por’Sha James. Among the notable returning Rattlers players – and their bodies – inspiring James and classmates are quarterback Nick
Davila, wide receiver Kerry Reed and linebacker Tyre Glasper. “These players and this project are such perfect fits for me,” says student Cassandra Bence. “In fact, I initially decided to volunteer because of how much I loved being a part of the Red Mountain Sports Medicine team back in high school, where I worked primarily with football and wrestling. While in high school I learned what a certified athletic trainer did for the athletes; through our Physical Therapy Technology program, I am learning how to actually perform the specific activities of my planned career.” According to Schauer, the program does more than prepare students like Abisia, James and Bence for the physical demands of the actual jobs they seek. It teaches them soft skills including bedside manner, projecting maturity and professionalism. “What I hear most from employers is the need for health care professionals to
have exceptional soft skills, which are not easy to teach and even tougher to demonstrate in a job application,” said Schauer. “Integrating on-the-job career coaching throughout the duration of the student lifecycle makes all the difference. Not only does it provide a much-needed support system, it allows students time to build their confidence.” Just as the Rattlers’ practices prepare the team for matchups through August, the purpose of opportunities like these for the students to act as a “warm up” before the big game (of life) for students. The students also add that in their world, the athletic trainers are as much the rock stars as the athletes. “Right now, getting to watch the Rattlers’ Head Athletic Trainer Sean McMannes, who has also served on the training staffs with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders, in action is an opportunity of a lifetime,” Abisia says.