issue 17 / volume 40

Life of a trainer

» It may not be a glamorous life, but they still love it

Michael Chmielewski,
The Carillon

A with many aspects of life,
certain individuals take
the lion’s share of the credit for
something that many worked at.

The rockstar on stage may
get all the glamorous attention,
but the critical component to
the success of the performance
rests with many hands, such as
roadies, light crew, sound crew,
promoters, and so on. The same
goes for trainers in the world
of sports. They are a critical,
yet neglected, aspect of the
sports world. When the Chicago
Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup
last year, nobody rushed onto
the ice to interview the trainers;
the trainers didn’t hoist the cup
into the air.

The same phenomenon
occurs with the life of trainers at
the University of Regina.

A trainer’s duties include
attending practice every day,
stretching out the players, doing
laundry, fixing equipment,
and making sure the team is
generally ready to go. In the
event of an injury, the trainer is
the first one to respond and help
the player.

For Carly Pockett, a
Kinesiology student, as the
athletic trainer and equipment
manager for the Cougars’
women’s hockey team she
admits that the work is time
consuming, especially with
school, but that she does like it.

“I do enjoy the job most
times,” she said. “Better aspects
include the athletes. They're a
great group to work with and
also I get to do something that I
enjoy. Bad aspects include how
time-consuming it is. It doesn’t
always agree with my school
schedule.”

A ‘Stern’ farewell

» David Stern retires aS commissioner

Courtnie Martin
Sports Reporter

 

fter 30 years as
commissioner of the
NBA—making him longest

: countries.
It hasn't been all
: sunshine and rainbows for
: Stern, though. He’s overseen
: six franchise relocations,
: several lockouts, huge referee
: scandals, trade vetoes, and
: many other controversial and

history—David Stern is slated

his tenure he successfully
transformed the league into
a compelling cash cow for all
parties involved.

Since his debut in 1984,
Stern increased television
ratings and contracts so that

the TV contracts. His stellar
efforts also took the league's
annual salaries through the
roof. While the league was
initially offering an average

of $250,000 per player, Stern
managed to raise that number
well into the millions. The
average NBA contract is now
approximately $5-million.
When Stern took on the
position, game attendance
averaging less than 7,000 fans
a night. Stern has more than
doubled that number along
with helping the league's
worldwide presence—the 2012
playoffs were broadcast in 215

: in his first year on the job

: when he caused a ruckus with
: Michael Jordan—banning his
: very first pair of Nikes (Air

: Jordan I) for failure to meet

: on-court dress code. Nike was
: in an uproar as MJ was fined

: $5,000 dollars every time he

: wore the shoes on the court. In:
: a move they would later come

: to appreciate much more, Nike

serving commissioner in sports : heavily publicized moments.
: Many recall the betting scandal :
to resign on February 1. During : With referee Tim Donaghy
: that went public in 2007,

: when Donaghy was accused
: of betting on games that he
: refereed in the 2005-06 and
: 2006-07 seasons. The FBI

: investigated his remote ties
: to organized crime, which

now, $930-million is divvied up ultimately resulted in a guilty

between the NBA owners from:
: with three years supervised

: release. Stern made it very

: clear afterwards that he never
: wanted to see such despicable
: acts within the organization

: again.

plea and 15 months in jail along

Another “highlight” was

Balancing sucha
demanding job with a full course
load has its challenges, but those
are often outweighed by the
future career benefits.

‘I feel like this experience
will help me in my future
career or if I choose to continue
my school elsewhere after
my degree,” Pockett said. “It
gives me an advantage against
those that have never done or
experienced anything along
these lines, and it also gets my
name out there for a future
career option.”

Dillon Hunter, the trainer of
the men’s hockey team, also feels
that the job is very demanding
while trying to take a full course
load, but similarly feels that the
experience of being a trainer will
help him in his career.

“Tt will definitely help me.

I mean, it'll give me just that
much more experience for
injuries that do occur,” he said.

When Stern took
on the position,
game attendance
averaging less
than 7,000 fans a
night. Stern has
more than doubled
that number along
with helping the
league’s worldwide
presence...

paid out for all of Jordan’s fines.

Stern has been mentoring
his successor, Adam Silver,

: to ensure the NBA remains

: in great shape and continues

: expanding its revenues. The

: two have worked together

: for 20 years. “I’m honoured,

: thrilled, and will do my

: absolute best to grow this

: league or try to do it the way

: David has done over the last 20
: (sic) years. To the NBA family,
: I look forward to serving you,”
: stated Silver.

Stern’s stepping down has

: been met with an outpouring
: of respect from athletes and
: team owners. Farewell, Stern!

“I mean, in hockey, there’s a few
more brutal injuries.”

Since hockey is such a fast,
physical and injury-prone sport,
trainers can bet that they will see
and have to deal with injuries.

“T’ve seen a few bad
concussions,” said Hunter. “Last
year we had one guy, he had
severed his Ulnar nerve. I wasn’t
there at the game, the other guy
was.”

The Ulnar nerve is the
located in the arm, beside the
elbow bone. It is commonly
know as the “funny bone.” The
nerve is quite unprotected.

The reason why Hunter
wasnt there was because last
year, the men’s hockey team had
two trainers, whereas this year
Hunter is all by his lonesome
self. This has increased his
workload significantly, because
before him and his trainer
partner would split practices.

As to whether or not

 

sports // 19

trainers are under-appreciated,
both Hunter and Pockett agree
that the team values their
contribution. As far as being
underpaid, though, both seem
not to mind.

“TIt] is a lot of work for the
amount we do get paid, but this
position is more volunteer than
anything,” she said. “I wasn’t
even aware that we did get paid
before committing my time to
the team.”

“The money isn’t the biggest
part of it,” agreed Hunter. “It’s
more the experience, I would
say. The money is nice, but it’s
not all about it.”

These trainers, for all they
do and the way they do it ina
humble manner, deserve their
own applause and fame for all
their hard work. Next time a
team succeeds, especially the
Cougars or Rams, don’t forget
their trainers.

David Stern // By www.tracking.si.com