In Trainers We Trust

In some strange way, if it weren't for Carmel High School athletic trainer Chad Gabbard, tight end Jake LaRosa might never have been on the field to catch the Greyhounds' only touchdown in the school's Class 5A state championship victory over Pike in late November. A senior, LaRosa had suffered a knee injury and missed most of the regular season, believing for over two months he was out for good. "He sat in the training room after the injury saying that he'd never play again," says Gabbard. "But I knew he could come back with time and he listened to everything and did what we asked." LaRosa came back for the semistate game against Merrillville before making his presence felt in the state title game with 2-yard touchdown grab. "When he cam back [after catching the touchdown], I ran up and jumped on his back - I nearly cried," explains Gabbard. A graduate of Columbus East High School and Butler University, Gabbard was working as an athletic trainer at the University of Wisconsin, when Ralph Reiff, his mentor and Director of Sports Medicine at St. Vincent, e-mailed to ask if he would consider coming back to Indiana. For Gabbard, it just felt right. "They had an opening; I came in for the interview and everything sounded awesome," Gabbard explains. "It was perfect for my family to move back home." His daughter certainly likes it. Gabbard says he knew he made the right decision when he was leaving to work Carmel's first football game shortly after he returned to Indiana. "I told her I would see her later because I had to work. She said, 'O.K. Daddy, I'll see you Sunday,' since she was used to me leaving on Thursday and returning on Sunday for Wisconsin games. When I told her I would be back that night, she couldn't believe it." Several athletic directors in Central Indiana praise the efforts of their athletic trainers, many pointing to the relationships they've built with the student-athletes as an important cog in sports programs on all levels. "The professionalism our trainer - Ryan McDivett, from Methodist Sports Medicine - makes his area of our program something that I really don't ever worry about," says Covenant Christian athletic director Andy Gossel. "He's a great support to our programs, coaches and student-athletes." Roncalli High School athletic director Dave Toner knows that the importance of trainers cannot be overstated. Trainers work efficiently and effectively behind the scenes to ensure the health of a school's student-athletes - both mentally and physically. As Toner says, "They are the front line in prevention of, and treatment for, those nagging day-to-day injuries, as well as being the first responder in many instances to serious injury situations that develop in both practices and games." With the importance of prevention and treatment in mind, Roncalli has its own sports medicine department, headed by Mike Sahm. Sahm is a Roncalli graduate and former football standout who played college football at Valparaiso University. After earning his degree in athletic training, Sahm returned to Roncalli as the Rebels first full-time athletic trainer. "At first, I was simply looking for a full-time job," says Sahm of coming back to Roncalli. "I'd been at LaPorte High on a temporary basis and loved the people I worked with and for up there, but they didn't have anything available." Sahm bounced around for about a year substitute teaching and coaching before Roncalli principal Chuck Weisenbach contacted him regarding an open position. "Before I even got home from the interview, I got a call and they wanted to talk about how they could work the athletic training into it and basically created the position for me," Sahm explains. "I've been here for 13 years now." While not all athletic trainers are former graduates of the schools they serve, many trainers stay on board for a number of years, no doubt a by-product of the bond they form with the athletes, coaches and schools. And though they can disagree from time to time - hey, coaches want their athletes back as quickly as possible - all can point to the relationships they've built as to why it works, even if things get heated. Chad Snyder of Methodist Sports Medicine has been with Tri West High School for over a dozen years, coming in on Tuesdays, Fridays and many Saturdays to tend to the needs of the Bruin athletes. And he's quickly endeared himself with Tri West coaches and administrators. "Chad has established a caring and working relationship with all coaches, athletes and administration," says Tri West athletic director Ryan Nickoli. "He is a part of the Bruin family and around whenever we need him." Though many of the trainers are a part of the school family, they also have their own families at home. And sometimes they simply can't be in two places at once on the days of multiple sporting events. "Mike, or any trainer with a school, cannot hope to be in attendance at all athletic events throughout each sports season," says Toner. In those instances, Roncalli uses its longtime affiliation with St. Francis Sports Medicine and Dr. Jeffrey Peterson to provide supplementary coverage. Likewise Gabbard, currently in his fourth year at Carmel, often will trade shifts with the other Carmel trainer, Dawn Robertson, so that neither has to work too many hours or days consecutively. Robertson handles all fall sports other than football, which is Gabbard's main focus, while the two split the winter and spring sports. For most trainers, there is rarely a break for more than a few days. A common misconception is that once a sports season is complete, trainers are able to take time off. On the contrary, athletic trainers are often busiest as one sport finishes and a new one begins. "We've already played games in boys and girls basketball before football was even over," says Gabbard, who notes that communication is important with multiple trainers, so that each always knows what sports and what injuries are being taken care of. "In the event you have to come up at a moment's notice and cover a sport you haven't in the recent past, you already know what's going on." Unequivocally, many trainers and athletic directors say the relationships and trust trainers build with the student-athletes is extremely important to the school. "Most definitely," Gabbard enthuses. "If you get the trust of the kids, then you've won the battle - and I think the coaches and players trust Dawn and I a great deal." No doubt Jake LaRosa and the rest of the student-athletes at Carmel, not to mention Central Indiana, would agree.