“In the training room, expect absolutely anything.”
Senior Elayna Marquez said the statement is her motto as a third-year Sunny Hills sports medicine intern.
“Sometimes, you’ll never know what’s going to walk through that door, whether it’s non-stop nosebleeds everywhere or just a little paper cut,” Marquez said.
Athletic trainer Lauren Wukadinovich said she initiated the year-long internship program in 2016 after wanting help managing the influx of athletes who needed treatment. In contrast to the Regional Occupation Program [ROP] Medical Careers and Sports Medicine and Therapy classes taught on campus, students have the opportunity to gain experience with treating injured athletes.
“Sunny Hills has the highest number of athletes in the entire school district,” Wukadinovich said. “Having students help kind of takes a little bit of the load off on my end.”
The athletic trainer said the interns assist her in almost every aspect of rehabilitation and beyond:
- maintaining the training room for hygiene purposes
- filling up water coolers to prevent dehydration
- preparing for and attending sports games
- communicating with athletes at the door
- aiding with rehabilitation and physical therapy exercises
- helping to get ice if needed
- assisting with injuries
“The only thing they don’t do, though, is injury evaluations,” the athletic trainer said. “There’s so much liability involved, and they also don’t have the education required.”
Marquez said her favorite task she learned, since her first year as an intern, is ankle taping.
“It’s just become muscle memory at this point, and it also looks clean,” Marquez said. “It’s fun. You’re doing repetitive motions, but it’s kind of like art.”
Not only did the experience allow her to learn new skills, but she said she was also able to gain a better understanding of the healing process of an athlete.
“I feel like I’m able to relate to them because I get that, though they are injured, they want to get back on the field immediately instead of being taken out,” said Marquez. “At the same time, you should know that if you’re injured and you continue to play on it, you’re just going to hurt yourself more.”
SELECTING SUNNY HILLS’ HEALERS
The athletic trainer said she prefers students who have some background knowledge, gained from either the ROP Medical Careers or Sports Medicine and Therapy classes, and have an open sixth period.
However, Wukadinvich said spring semester athletes still have the opportunity to become an intern as long as they are available in the fall. Since the athletic training room does not get as backed up with injuries in the spring, fewer interns are required.
“Sixth period is the busiest in here, especially in the fall because we have football, flag football, and cross country going on — just lots of injuries,” she said.
Despite no longer teaching her two medical ROP classes following a promotion to her current position in 2023, the athletic trainer said she still gets the opportunity to inform students.
“I still am teaching every day because I have my interns,” Wukadinovich said. “I would pull kids from my classes in the past, whereas now, since I don’t have students in a classroom, I have to interview.”
Marquez said she found out about the internship by being enrolled in Wukadinovich’s Medical Careers course in 2022-2023.
“Since she taught us, she felt comfortable with us applying, so I applied and got in,” the senior said. “It’s a really safe environment there — what happens in the training room stays in the training room.”
Though it varies slightly every year, the athletic trainer said that she has had anywhere from four to nine interns annually.
“Ideally, I would like to have between six and eight because more help is great, but it’s also a lot to manage on my end, too, which sometimes I don’t have time to do,” she said. “Sophomores through seniors can apply, but I would say, the earlier you start, the better.”
THE TOP OF THE TRIAGE PYRAMID
Ankle sprains are the most common injury in any sport, said the athletic trainer. Sometimes, there are more severe cases like concussions and broken bones, which take priority on the triage assessment.
In the fall season of 2023, football quarterback then-freshman Alexander Taylor had one of the more severe and uncommon cases: a broken collarbone. Both Wukadinovich and then-football frosh coach Troy Nelson noticed a discrepancy in his playing during a game, which led them to take Taylor out.
“I thought it was just a really painful bruise, so I kept playing for two plays until they pulled me out,” the now-junior said. “I was really upset and disappointed because a broken bone would mean I wouldn’t be able to play football for some time, but I’m glad Mrs. Wukadinovich and Coach Nelson pulled me out to stop further damage to my collarbone.”
The athletic trainer said she first suspected a broken bone after noticing Taylor had a slumped shoulder.
“He was obviously in a lot of pain because he broke a bone, but I was just making sure that he wasn’t going into shock because that can happen too,” she said. “I wasn’t happy that I was right, but sometimes it’s nice to know I did my job correctly.
Nelson, who took Taylor off the field after noticing he couldn’t throw a football correctly, said the sports medicine team was efficient in getting the quarterback the help he needed.
“It shut him down, but allowed him to heal with exercises,” the coach said.
Marquez, who was on the field during the injury, said she was able to guide him in his physical therapy exercises.
“Since it was one of my first experiences, I felt sympathy for him as a fellow athlete,” she said. “Seeing him be able to come back the next year after gave me joy and showed how everyone needs to face their injury somehow.”
Now that two years have passed, Taylor says he is grateful for the daily visits to the athletic training room.
“I think doing those exercises with Elayna and Ms. Wukadinovich really helped quicken my healing process for my collarbone,” he said. “I’m glad that they’re able to help athletes get better and recover and get back on track.”
IMPACT BEYOND THE FIELD
Overall, Nelson said that the athletic trainer and her interns play a vital role in supporting SH sports program.
“Being able to assess and then treat and help with all of their treatment plans and rehab plans is great for all our athletes.”
Taylor also agreed about the sports medicine team’s role within the athletic department.
“The physical therapy appointments with Ms. Wukadinovich and the interns definitely allowed me and many other athletes to have a safe recovery,” he said. “I’m really grateful that we have people who can support us through our obstacles.”
As Marquez, the intern with the most experience, enters her last year on the team, she said she is very proud of her efforts toward sports medicine.
“In my sophomore year, I spent hours in the training room during sixth period in the fall and winter asking Ms. Wukadinovich questions any chance I got,” the intern said. “Now that I’m the senior, I’m trying to be like the people I had myself and help the other interns any way I can.”
This year, Wukadinovich said her goal is to continue to promote the program while keeping her standards high.
“I don’t try to be super strict with my students,” she said. “I want them to have fun, but obviously I care passionately about what I do for a living, so I want them to obviously be held accountable.”
The athletic trainer said that Lancers interested in enrolling in the sports medicine internship can apply toward the end of the spring semester, receive an interview and find out if they were selected for the following school year.
