Athletic Trainer Humor: 5 Things that Drive Athletic Trainers Crazy in the Training Room – A Humorous Take on Life in the Training Room
Being an athletic trainer is a rewarding career but there are times when it can drive you crazy. Athletes, coaches, parents and other well-meaning by-standers have a habit of misunderstanding the role of an athletic trainer – to the point of distraction. In this post we’ll look at five things others do or say that drive athletic trainers crazy in the training room.
If you look like you’re enjoying it, we’ll put a stop to it
While we don’t mean to be sadistic, there are times when we derive pleasure from pain (well, as long as it gets the athlete better…)
When an athlete seems to be enjoying treatment a little too much, it can be a little tempting to stop it. And many of us have a range of secret powers designed just for these moments.
If you lie, we know the truth
For some strange reason, athletes are convinced they can lie to their athletic trainer. Whether its a lie about completing their rehab for the day or how bad their injury is, athletes are sure we won’t know the truth. Sadly for them, we do. We instinctively know when an athlete is lying and it only leads to trouble – for them!
We also use these athletic training super powers at home, so beware spouses, partners and children of athletic trainers!
The training room is not your apartment
And the athletic trainer is not your mother.
Athletes that treat the training room like their apartments, throwing wet towels, clothes, tape and rubbish every where are guaranteed to drive their athletic trainer crazy. While cleaning up the training room is part of our job, we’re not the maid and shouldn’t be treated that way.
Don’t tell me how to do my job
Another sure fire way to drive an athletic trainer crazy is to tell them how to do they jobs.
There is always someone out there who thinks they know better. Athletes, coaches, parents, teachers… the list is endless. Keeping calm and staying professional in this situation can be a big challenge, especially when the person telling you what to do is completely wrong!
I’m not the water boy/girl
The number one way to drive an athletic trainer crazy is to refer to them as the water boy/girl. Again, this is something said by people who probably should know better and its infuriating. No disrespect to water boys and girls – theirs is an invaluable job and helps keep our athletes hydrated – but we didn’t spend years in school, completing countless hours of on-field experience, and sitting countless exams featuring words most people can’t pronounce to be called a water boy/girl.
Athletic training is a fun and rewarding career. From standing on the sidelines watching athletes perform at their best, and helping them recover from serious and minor injuries, to the relationships you build with your athletes, there are many positive and happy moments in the life of an athletic trainer. But there are occasions, and people, that will drive you crazy both in and out of the training room.