Rotation 1

And like that, my first clinical rotation is complete. My rotation took place at Nacogdoches High School where Christy W. is the Head Athletic Trainer. Based on what I'm hearing from others in my cohort, I seem to be doing the most AT related things during my rotation. The others are either shagging balls, getting water, observing treatments, getting assigned papers, or any combination of those. In fairness, I'm doing those same things too but I'm also taping, and seem to have a little more freedom. I love being at Nac high for that reason. Christy was really trusting, and allowed me to be on my own.

The typical day consisted of us (myself, Jorge, and Bart) showing up around 3pm. Practice began at 4:30p. We'd setup water caddy's for the players, and transport any equipment or tables to their necessary destinations. That wouldn't take too long, and it may not seem like much but I think it is important to get an idea how different people do their setup. For example, Dan M. does his setup completely different. The biggest difference being the fact we are in such a humid climate that their absolutely must be water out there. In California, we didn't use water caddy's. What a difference a state can make, huh? Then the players would come in and get taping and bracing. At first, I was a little hesitant to tape the players, despite that being one of the best experiences outside of the controlled environment of our classroom. But knowing the critiques I recieved from Dan, I jumped right in by day 2. I was a lot more comfortable, and most importantly, the athletes were a lot more comfortable with me. Trust is important. Had I screwed up someone's ankle job, then there would be very little chance of them ever coming back to me. Luckily I didn't. I felt very confident in my tape jobs. Afterall, we only did wrist/hand/thumb combos, and ankles. Those are the most commonly taped body parts, anyway.

Gameday was definitely exciting. It was my first chance to witness what Texas football is all about. Like, the show "Friday Night Lights" -- I really wanted to see if it was really like that. In some ways it was, but not really -- and I think the reason is because if I were to go to Odessa area, which is the school that FNL is based off, then I'd really see it there. But even at the bigger school, or dare I say better teams, then I'd see it something that more closely resembles the "idea" I had of FNL. In a few weeks, I'll be a Lufkin High which is a better team, supposedly. Nac High held their own, though. They are 2-0! With wins over Mt. Pleasant high and Center High. Besides a cheerleader falling from the pyramid, there were no injuries to report.

Thank you to Jorge and Bart for providing the transportation. Good lookin' out fellas because I would have been SOL. All in all, it was a good experience. Now, I move on to SFA Football, which is my next rotation. Hopefully I'll be able to do some taping. Most likely not, but I am looking forward to being on the sidelines. However, I am NOT looking forward to 6:30a treatments.