When an injury happens on the field or on the court, you can bet that there will be a trainer nearby to help. What many may not know, however, is that students can actually be athletic trainers too through the Student Athletic Trainer Program.

Student trainers are an essential part of the athletic trainer program at the high school. They assist the trainers and care for athletes on a daily basis, all while learning skills within the athletic training world. This program provides students the opportunity to experience the work that goes into being a trainer. This is great for those who are interested in being a trainer themselves or someone who is interested in pursuing a career in healthcare. Head trainer Russ Schellhase helps oversee the program and is heavily involved in athletics.

“The program was started over 40 years ago. The great thing about the program is that it’s definitely geared towards students thinking about going into the physical medicine field, but can also be for students who just want to be involved in athletics and help our teams,” Schellhase said.

There are a number of students who have done student training over the years. Junior Ashley Tsang has been a student trainer for over a year and has spent the majority of her afternoons in the athletic halls.

“I started being a student trainer at the beginning of my sophomore year and I’ve loved every minute of it,” Tsang said. “Being an athletic trainer is something I want to do when I’m older and this gives me a head start for college.”

An active golf and volleyball athlete herself, Tsang has found that being an athlete has helped her become a better trainer.

“I understand the hard work and the mindset of an athlete and what they go through especially with injuries,” Tsang said. “Just being able to help those who are injured, and just understanding what they go through really helps out a lot.”

Being a student trainer, there are many tasks to do everyday. Ranging from wrapping tape on the athletes, whipping down tables, and setting up equipment for sports games. The student trainers will typically start their responsibilities after school and will sometimes end late into the night.

“A typical day usually is pretty busy after school, with all the athletes coming in to get their feet tapped or to do some strengthening exercises,” Tsang said. “If there’s not a game that day, then things will eventually quiet down. If there is a game, however, there will be athletes coming in for a long period of time and we usually help set up some water for the games and stuff like that.”

There are many things needed to be a student trainer such as being dedicated and a leader. Some days are harder than others, but for Tsang the good days are extremely rewarding.

“In the spring all five of the student trainers are in the office. So we’ll all work together and help set up a lot of the fields for baseball, softball, soccer. So all of us will just hang out together and ride the golf cart and it’s really fun,” Tsang said. “I’ve seen someone who has had a concussion and I helped by aiding the athletic trainers and allowing them to do what they needed and that to me was very fulfilling.”