Rotation 4 - Women's Soccer

Soccer has been a very interesting rotation. The past two weeks have, indeed, been one of the best rotations. Now, let's not get carried away, because it was not always the best. But in comparison to the other rotations, soccer did have its moments of shine. I think what I liked best about it was how quickly the time went by. Typically, I'd show up at 2pm and was out before 6pm. Although I ended up having more than the 40 hours/2wks requirement, that mostly came from game-hours, and weekend practices. The soccer players are all fun girls. They can be even more fun when you really get to know them. They are all their own special characters, and somehow they all blend nicely with eachother. At least, that is how it appears to an outsider like myself. For all I know, there could be some personal grudges and dislikes among some, but I doubt it. You just can't mask that kind of stuff. These girls all seem genuine.

Throughout last week, they did have a road game, which I am not required to attend, so that meant I got the weekend off. I enjoyed my time off, knowing, next weekend (these past three days), they would have two games in three days. The 2nd week of the rotation are usually my best weeks. I am no longer shy and reserved, and I have a better feel for the athletes and procedures of the respective rotation. This particular mentality I carry goes back to the notion that we (Level I's or first-year Graduates), are the TRUE 'freshmen' in the program, and we really do not have an idea of how things go, and have no familiarity of the particular protocols or routine of all the sports. There are undergraduates in the program who have been here for 3-4 yrs., and there are also 2nd-year Graduates (Level II's) and obviously, they've beeen here for 1 year already. But since Level I's are so new, it does take some time to not only get to know the athletes, but to get used to the routines of each sport, because there is an Athletic Trainer for every sport and they all have different styles. So therefore, by the second week, I have gotten used to the folks I am around, and used to the routines, and that makes the experience a lot more enjoyable, because I am not standing around as much, and feeling dumb asking questions.

From a fans perspective, the soccer team did not do well these past two weeks. They went 1-2, with an impressive, dominant performance (9-2 win) one week, and two lossed (1-3, 0-1) the second week. A shutout? C'mon ladies, what is the deal with the bi-polar play? But from an Athletic Trainers' perspective, these past two weeks have been a dream (sorta like my name). During week 1, I personally got a lot of insight to the sport of soccer, which I admittingly know very, very little about. And in terms of injuries, I got to see/care for three ankle sprains, bacterial infection, unknown nerve condition, and the mommy of all knee injuries, the ever-so-popular ACL. Well, we don't know for sure until she goes and sees the Doc, but we think it could be. But the best injury to date, is one that must have fell from the Heavens. In fact, I am doing my Eval of Lower Extremities case study on this; a fracture of the calcaneal beak. WHOA!!!!! I am sorry, but this kind of stuff excites me!!!! But wait, it gets better!!!! Not only did I get to go to the players' doctor visit and personally speak with the doc, but the player actually has photos of the ACTUAL INJURY when it occured. Supposedly, her familiy was in the stands and they caught it exactly when it happened. Talking about hitting the JACKPOT, baby! In addition, I was granted permission for personal interviews, x-rays, and any other tests involved. I smell an A+

Overall, excellent rotation. In fact, I'd give it the highest marks to-date. However, there is one important flaw about the on-field protocol I'd like to point out. Not that the current system is ineffective, but I simply have some suggestions to make it better. Currently, as described to me by the Level II, in the event of an emergency (by emergency, I mean a player goes down on the field), the procedure is.....I quote, "whoever it is turn to go out and do an on-field evaluation, they go with [Head Athletic Trainer], and that's it." I thought to myself, "okay..." Then I followed up with another question, because I'm not sure she understood what I was getting at. I asked, "So if a player goes down, and one of you (undergrad or Level II) goes out there with the Head AT, what then, becomes my responsibilty? Am I to wait for a signal in case I need to call an ambulance, 911, retrieve the splint bag, crutches, etc.?" And her response was, "Oh, we have an ambulance here, usually, and we'll just get them." And that was it. Not very productive, and either she wasn't aware of the plan in place, or there just wasn't one. So I am proposing a plan, because afterall, like I mentioned there was a 'suspected' ACL tear, this emergency happened...

The plan: In the event there is an injury, and an on-field evaluation is taking place, the two remaining AT students then treat it as a time-out of sorts, get players water, but one shall also become responsible for paying attention to see if the AT's on the field needs anything. That AT student must remain visually attentive, and if neccessary, react to the needs of the AT's that are on the field, whether that means flagging the ambulance, or retrieving certain items like band-aiids, medkit, splint bag, ice, etc.

And if the head AT returns to the sideline and needs to do further evaluation, as in the case with the ACL, now it becomes that second team of 2 AT students to watch the game and respond to any on-the-field injuries, while the head AT continues to treat the previously injured athlete. The roles are just switched until the hea AT can return. Without a proper protocol like this, what you will get is exactly what happened this Friday; 5 people standing around watching a Lachman's being performed while the game continued without being monitored.