by Jake Boese |
One job that does not get much recognition around the athletic department is the athletic trainers. The school trainers, Jared Sheets and Deanna Neldon, put in a lot of hard work and dedication to try and keep all LHS athletes healthy.
There are many necessities on for the trainers on game day.
“We take ice water, 24 water bottles, a bag of injury ice, towels, a portable taping table, vacuum splints, AED (defibrillator), med kit, separate bag of tape, two sets of crutches,” Sheets said. “We also bring a suture kit in case of a cut; if there is a doctor, they can stitch them up because we cannot.”
The trainers feel the same excitement on game day as the players.
“It’s always an exciting day. If it’s a big game you want to see the team pull off the win,” Neldon said.
At times being an athletic trainer can be quite a gruesome job, seeing all types of injuries.
“The worst I’ve seen and dealt with is a full knee dislocation and a femur fracture here at Liberty,” Sheets said.
Athletic training sparked Sheets’ interests early on in life.
“It started in high school, I had knee surgery junior year. It made me want to get into the medical field. Doing athletic training gave me the best of both worlds, because it let me do medical work and sports,” Sheets said.
For Neldon, she experiences the joy of getting to assist people in staying on the field.
“I got into it because I like medicine and I love sports. I like helping people who are hurt get back out onto the field,” Neldon said.
Neldon and Sheets’ schedules can be very tough, but their ultimate priority is the players.
“The hardest part is the long hours. Also, when you see someone not get to play the rest of his or her season because of an injury,” Neldon said.
With all of the difficulties of being a trainer, Neldon and Sheets say they love their job and deserve high praise for the work they’ve done to help out athletes.
“They are both really nice and they wrap a mean ankle. They’re really dedicated to helping athletes,” junior Kellan Turner said.
