Aspires to be an athletic trainer
BY JONATHAN KANE
Wood River High School senior Janelle Meyers wants to pursue a future in athletics as a trainer. A standout pitcher on the Wood River softball team, Meyers is currently studying college algebra, American government, economics and college English, and takes part in the zero-hour workout class.
But, she says her real passion is being down on the field doing what a trainer does – assessing injuries, taping and re-taping ankles and wrists, cleaning up blood and checking the athletes when they go down on the field.
“I watch and study the team trainer,” said Meyers, who has worked as a trainer for two football seasons. “I’m not allowed to do rehab. At Wood River, I’ve taken two years of athletic training from David Allred – the school’s trainer.
“In that class we studied anatomy and learned how to assess injuries,” Meyers said. “Basically, there are different tests for different body parts to see what is wrong. Then we learned the different rehab exercises for each part. Anatomy really comes into play in this part, which helps in on-field assessments. If you hurt your head or neck, you need to know how to precisely put them [the injured] on a stretcher or backboard.”
“Once we played a team that didn’t have a trainer and one of their players went down with a concussion,” Meyers said. “We then had to see what the issue was and get him off the field.
“A lot of things come into play with a possible concussion. First, you need to check if they are responsive. Then you check their eyes, which can get super big with a concussion. Then you see if they can follow your finger when you move it in front of their eyes, and then a memory test, where you ask them to repeat four numbers. Also, nausea is a sign.
“Of course, we take concussions very seriously and we take them [the player] out of the game until we can administer an impact test,” Meyers said. “At the beginning of the year, everyone takes a baseline test for your memory reaction and then when you have a concussion you take it again. If you go below the baseline, you have a problem. The first time I dealt with a concussion I had only been doing it for two weeks, so it was pretty scary.”
Meyers said she finds working football games the most interesting aspect of being a trainer.
“I like being on the sideline and re-taping and bandaging,” she said. “If you roll your ankle, it’s really prone to happen again, so taping is really important. There is a system so joints won’t move from side to side, which is also important for wrists.
“I love sports and helping people, so this gives me a chance to do both,” Meyers said. “Also, I really enjoy being close to the games, and because it was physical, the whole thing just clicked for me.”
Editor’s note: Anyone who would like to recommend a local student for The Weekly Sun’s “Student Spotlight” feature should contact Jonathan Kane at jkjonkane@gmail.com.