The Student Association is working with the University of Rochester to provide club sports with athletic trainers (Xavier Delcid/ photo editor).
The Club Sports Association and Student Association have created a plan to introduce athletic trainers to club sports next semester.
This new plan involves contracting University of Rochester physical therapists to come to Geneseo three days a week to meet with club athletes to prevent and treat injuries, according to SA President Adam Hansen.
The cost of the supplies alone is going to be around $1,000, according to Hansen, and they are trying to work out pricing on what the services will cost. SA is working with Dean of Students Leonard Sancilio and interim Vice President of Student and Campus Life David Braverman to see if their offices can add financial support to the program.
While communication with the U of R physical therapists has been difficult thus far, Hansen is confident that they are on their way to achieving their goal of implementing this plan by next semester and hopes to have more information on the project in the coming weeks.
SA has also added an impact concussion program this semester for club athletes.
“We invested into a one-year contract, essentially with impact, where all the clubs’ athletes were all baseline tested,” Hansen said. “We can use that to see if there’s any neurological damage related to the concussion.”
Hansen said that athletes can even see their results through an app on their phone, providing accessibility for athletes to bring this information with them to see a physician or even to the emergency room with them if they become concussed.
Vice President of men’s club rugby Jamie Bonn said that he thinks the addition of the impact system is important.
“I know last year I had a concussion, I was very nervous about that process,” Bonn said. “I know impact testing is going to take that anxiety away from a lot of people when they get concussions … So, impact testing is going to be a huge thing, especially with the athletic trainer now too.”
Hansen explains that SA already has insurance that covers club athletes if an injury occurs during play and they are working to further administrative support for club athletes.
“I’m working with [Dean Sancilio] to see if we can have better communication between the student association and his office, especially with academics so that if you do get a concussion … [as a] club sport athlete, you still have those same protections.” Hansen said.
Head varsity athletic trainer Angelo Zegarelli said he believes that it’s important club athletes have access to athletic trainers.
“We have a number of thousands of students that aren’t getting appropriate health care in case of some sort of athletic injury,” Zegarelli said. “I think one of the big issues I have is you have some higher risk teams, say a sport like rugby, who’s guiding their concussion return? Are they failing classes because they don’t have resources that they should have? If there’s an injury that maybe somebody shouldn’t be playing on, but nobody’s there to direct their rehab and to let them know the risks. You know, I just think we’re failing our students in that situation.”
According to Zegarelli, it is prohibited for himself and the other varsity athletic training staff to care for non-varsity athletes and they are already stretched thin in terms of staffing. He said that they would need at least two full-time athletic trainers to fully accommodate club sports.
Club athletes are hopeful this new plan will help their teams stay healthier and look forward to seeking conditioning advice from the trainers in addition to getting assistance for their injuries and think this is a good place to start.
Captain of women’s frisbee Camille Montalbano explained the importance of this plan saying, “I think it’s definitely important, especially for club athletes that are in competitive sports, like Ultimate Frisbee especially. We put a lot of strain on our bodies and we need assistance from experienced people.”
Captain of men’s frisbee Anthony Prato said that, while a more consistent staff is ideal, this is a good start.
“Ideally you have someone who’s constantly kind of involved with the team and like get getting to know the players on a day to day basis,” Prato said. “I’d say three days a week just having someone to go to whose sole job it is to help rehab and answer questions, yeah, that’s obviously a huge asset.”