Ashland University: Top 5 Reasons to Consider Athletic Training Programs

    ASHLAND, OH, February 18, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Good news for anyone considering four-year athletic training programs: where you find sports, you find sports injuries. And America's growing passion for sports creates a growing demand for more Certified Athletic Trainers.

Job Forecast
The U.S. Department of Labor projects that employment of athletic trainers will grow 37 percent from 2008 to 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations, in part because of the role athletic trainers play in preventing, evaluating and treating injuries to help reduce healthcare costs.

The Recreation and Arthur L. and Maxine Sheets Rybolt Sport Sciences Center
Ashland University stands out among schools offering athletic training programs thanks to a nearly $20 million recreation and sport sciences complex. (www.ashland.edu/services/recservices//Reccenter.htm) The new center provides all students with a 5,000-square-foot fitness center and weight room, a game room, sauna, whirlpool, juice bar, 3-lane jogging track, multi-purpose and two basketball courts, climbing and boulder walls, a golf simulator, two racquetball courts, and an aerobics room. The complex also offers a Sport Sciences Center, with classrooms and an exercise physiology lab, and a 5,000-square-foot athletic training (www.ashland.edu/students/programs/athletic-training) facility.

What is a Certified Athletic Trainer?
Students who graduate from one of the nation's accredited athletic training programs, like the one at Ashland University, qualify to sit for the National Athletic Trainers' Association (http://www.nata.org) Board of Certification (http://www.bocatc.org) exam to become Certified Athletic Trainers. Ashland's athletic training students have had great success since graduating. Alumni are pursuing graduate degrees at schools such as the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Georgia Southern University; Ohio University; and Central and Eastern Michigan universities; and practicing as ATCs at places like the United States Naval Academy.

Do not confuse becoming a Certified Athletic Trainer with being a "personal trainer." Only Certified Athletic Trainers work directly with physicians and other allied health personnel to prevent and treat injuries. You function as an integral member of the athletic health care team in secondary schools, colleges and universities, sports medicine clinics, professional sports programs and other athletic health care settings.

Why should I consider the Athletic Training program at Ashland University?
With so many good reasons, we offer our Top 5 Reasons to pursue an Athletic Training program.

1. You've been treated by an Athletic Trainer.
Typically, people who enter the field have already experienced some kind of sports injury and been evaluated and treated by a Certified Athletic Trainer. In this small way, your apprenticeship has already begun. Something about the experience has stayed with you and you want to know more about what it takes -- academically and professionally -- to become a Certified Athletic Trainer.

2. You like the science of sports.
Maybe you're a runner who wants to know about foot strike patterns and how they reduce or heighten risk of injury. Or a swimmer who wants to know the link between overtraining and shoulder impingement. As a Certified Athletic Trainer, you study both injury prevention and treatment. Your academic preparation and professional success will require a scientific mind.

3. You want options after graduation.
Athletic trainers study alongside other allied health career students, taking courses such as human anatomy and physiology, biomechanics, exercise physiology, therapeutic modalities, rehabilitation, nutrition and sport psychology. At the end of an accredited four-year curriculum, like the one at Ashland University, you will be in position to make a number of different professional moves. You could continue to pursue certification (required in 47 states). You could enroll in graduate school--almost 70 percent of athletic trainers have a master's degree or higher, according to the National Athletic Trainers' Association. (www.nata.org/) You could apply to a related health care program, such as physical therapy, which shares many of the same prerequisite and foundational coursework. Or you could pursue PA or medical school.

4. You're good with people.
As a Certified Athletic Trainer, your knowledge and skill is only as useful as your "bed-side" manner. You will be the first respondent when injury occurs, and the daily support for athletes of all ages and levels during their recovery and beyond. In other words, people will draw upon your professional experience and positive outlook. While you will immerse yourself in science, ultimately you are in the business of helping people and you crave the contact.

Athletic trainers interact with the team or consulting physician every day. Athletic trainers have administrative responsibilities such as scheduling physical exams, writing rehab notes, providing injury updates to coaches, and inventory and budgeting. These duties also include regular meetings with an athletic director, physician practice manager, or other administrative officers.

5. You'd rather love your work.
Becoming a Certified Athletic Trainer allows you to stay close to athletes and athletics throughout your professional life. Being someone who loves sports allows you to bring insight and first-hand experience to your work. Athletic trainers report very high job satisfaction.

For more information regarding Ashland University's Athletic Training program, contact the Office of Admission at 1-800-882-1548 or 419-289-5052, or email at [email protected], or visit the Athletic Training program website at www.ashland.edu/students/programs/athletic-training

More information about the Athletic Training field can be found at --
http://www.nata.org/natm/index.htm
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/california-state-assembly-bill-aims-protect-youth-athletes/

About Ashland University

Ashland University is a mid-sized, private institution conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.

Website: http://www.ashland.edu

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