Lincoln East High School's home of Spartan news

The Oracle

Lincoln East High School's home of Spartan news

The Oracle

Lincoln East High School's home of Spartan news

The Oracle

The Trainers

The+Trainers

Walking into the training room for the first time can be overwhelming.  Equipment and tables line the walls while athletes occupy nearly every space, hurrying to get their workouts done and get taped up before rushing out to practice.  The air is filled with the sound the ice machines churning and the unique scent of sweat mixed with disinfectant.  In the middle of it all are East’s trainers “Mac” McCuiston, Nicole Walkup, and several student trainers, helping dozens of athletes get back to peak performance.  

Most people only see the athletic trainers when they run out on the field in the middle of the game to help an injured player off.  Yet, the trainers’ jobs go much further than that, from injury prevention, i.e. suggesting workouts to the coaches, to the moment of injury, all the way until the player is completely healed.  

On a typical football game day the trainers usually show up 2 hours before the game to fill water bottles and tape up players.  Then throughout the game they hand bottles of water and Gatorade to panting players in hopes to prevent cramping and dehydration, and then help the players stretch when they do cramp up.  Obviously the head trainers, Mac and Nicole, also head out onto the field when a player goes down, quickly analyzing the injury and helping the athlete off the field to keep the game going.  Finally, after the game the trainers stick around for another hour, staying until almost the entire football team has left, to treat injuries, hand out ice bags, and rebandage cuts from the game.  

All of this is a mere glimpse of all that the trainers do on football game days. Their workload, though different, is no less strenuous at any volleyball game, soccer practice, or other athletic event.  Surprisingly, the trainer’s job extends even beyond athletics, from teachers searching for help with an injury to keeping an eye on a marching band competition.  So next time you’re walking through the athletic concourse, be sure to stop by the training room and thank a trainer for all their hard work!