Makayla Estep

Weaver
Rhetoric 101
October 16, 2014
The Sideliners
As I stepped foot on the Lees-McRae soccer field on October 1
st
for my first sideline
observation at the womens soccer game, I was timid and shy. That evening I met the trainers
that were manning the womens soccer game; Cody, who is a junior this year as well as a cyclist,
Kate, who is also a junior and a cyclist, and Rudy, who is a mens volleyball player and a
sophomore. They immediately took me into their group and began interviewing me about my
project and my future aspirations. After I explained to them that I was anticipating getting into
the athletic training program next semester, they got even more intrigued. That entire game was
nothing but talking and listening. Rudy wants to be a personal trainer. With his athletic training
degree he is increasing his legal scope of care, so in turn he has a better chance of becoming a
personal trainer. Cody wants to become an EMT firefighter and receiving an athletic training
degree will certainly help him with his legal scope of care as well. Although all throughout our
individual and group conversations I noticed that they always had at least one eye on the field.
Every time an athlete got hit hard or an athlete stayed on the ground for an unusual amount of
time, the trainers would perk up and start speaking to Zee, the head trainer in charge of the game.
Zee already had one hand on her medical bag and one foot out on the field. They would all relax
when the downed athlete would regain their strength and begin playing again. Cody explained to
me that being in the presence of when the injury occurs helps tremendously in diagnosing the
injury later. When you can see it happen it makes it twenty times easier.
In the athletic training program your sophomore year you rotate between teams so you
can get a wide variety of sports and injuries, much like Rudy is in the process of doing with the
womens soccer team right now. During your junior year, you are actually in charge of a team;
Kate and Cody are in charge of the womens soccer team. Their job is to rush out before Zee and
take charge of the athlete while Zee supervises. They need to perform a primary assessment on
the field of the athlete and determine what action to take next. If there are additional steps to
take, then they will tend to them off the field. They are also in charge of observing practices as
well. Cody showed his dedication to the program and his athletes when he said he wouldnt
miss a practice, because it helps you figure out how an athlete is on and off the field. You can
determine if an athlete is playing as themselves or as their injured self during the game if you pay
attention them during practice. Kate also explained that you can usually tell if someone is
going to be a drama queen or not. You can see the dedication in some athletes and you can see
the laziness in others. Zee completely agreed with that philosophy as she was standing next to
us.
The feeling of being on the sideline with these uniformed professionals is anything but
professional. They tend to joke around a lot between the trainers and the athletes. The
relationship between athletes and trainers is a very special one. The trainers know exactly what
needs to be tended to for the athlete and the athletes know exactly what to say when the trainer
arrives. They even have inside jokes between each other. Zee even has athletes that are just hers,
they are off limits to the other trainers. She has three special athletes that she wont let anyone
else touch but her. Erin, a player with mcl problems, just recovered recently and Zee said before
the game that she could only play for 20 minutes a half. I asked if that was the doctors orders,
and Zee looked at me and said no, those are my orders. There was this one time in my
observations at my second game where it was 45 outside and the referee made the team sit on
the bleachers because it looked more professional. Zee blew up. During half time when she
ordered us into the training room to warm up I asked her about it. Ive never heard a ref say that
it looked more professional for a team to sit down, especially when its this cold. I cant believe
him, Im so angry. Doesnt he know I have five girls with cold allergies? Then I asked him can
they be off the bench if theyre warming up? And he said I guess so. So theyre just going to be
warming up now for no reason. When we went back on the field Zee made sure to tell us to
keep an eye on the athletes and make sure that if they start shivering then get them up and start
walking around with them and warm them up. There were moments when the trainers actually
took off their jackets and gave extra blankets to the athletes to keep them warm. The relationship
between athlete and trainer is something striking and incredible.
When I came on the sidelines of the field I could immediately recognize the relationship
that the trainers had with the athletes. It wasnt just Zee who had developed a close and personal
connection with her athletes it was also the student trainers. The athletes would walk up to Rudy
and say and inside joke about something and they both would laugh. Whenever Zee would get
into the game, an athlete would lean over out of the line of players and give her a funny look,
which made Zee crack up and then they would go off on a conversation about what happened a
week ago. The athletes and trainers are not just professional based, they also can create a true
and hilarious friendship.
This discourse community is a unique one. They have their own lexis. My first
observation Zee had to explain to me what a MPFL was- which is the ligament that holds the
patella in place- and also I learned the phrase hydration technician. They all have a broadly
agreed set of common public goals. Before the game the opposing teams trainers meet each
other. They all share the common goal, to provide immediate care to an injured athlete regardless
of team. The trainers are actually not supposed to cheer openly and obnoxiously on the sidelines
for their team, they are supposed to remain neutral. They also have a threshold that you have to
meet. There are new freshmen all the way to Lees-McRae alumni trainers. There is a constant
flow of new and old members in the program. Your freshman year you have to go through an
application process where you are interviewed and have to write an essay. That is the gate keeper
for the threshold of athletic training.
This experience was very informing about the program that I hope to become a part of
next semester. The people in this program are amazing and all have their own drives to be in the
athletic training program, but yet a major common goal in the end. They all want to help the
people that are in need of help. The two major themes for athletic training is knowledge of their
field and also the relationships between the athletes and the trainers themselves. Those two are
the most important factors in an athletic trainers job. Without those, the job means nothing.