by Marisa MacDonald, Sports Editor
photo by Bella Ishanyan
Why did you decide to come work at South?
This is my first job out of school. Before South, I went to UMass Amherst for undergrad, and then I went to school at Merrimack [College] for my master’s in athletic training. I grew up in Hyde Park for the first part of my life and then moved up to Lexington, so I know South and I know North. I’ve played in this gym before. When I was looking around for jobs, I recognized this name, so I decided to apply here.
What does a normal day look like during pre-season?
I’ll get here around 8 because almost all the teams for fall sports have tryouts. I’m here basically from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. If there are injured players, then I help treat them and rehab them, and I make sure that everyone is safe. If there are any injuries that pop up, I’m the one that takes care of them. And that would be from blisters and cuts to more serious injuries to their muscles or bones. I’ll take a look at whatever they need.
What will your role look like during the fall season?
When the school year starts, it’s going to be very similar. Just the day’s going to be cut shorter. If there are games, then I’m going to definitely be at the games because those take precedence over practices.
Right after school I know there’s a big rush, so I’ll try to get all the teams that are going out to away games their Med Kit [and water] … ready to go so they can just grab it and they can just leave … then I’ll tend to whoever has games because they have priority, and then whoever has practice … Not too busy.
What is your favorite part of the job so far?
Definitely just always being around sports. I’ve been an athlete all my life, so I love sticking around sports and watching good sports. It’s really fun. I get paid to watch sports and talk to athletes. It’s also easy to connect with all the players here because I’m not that far apart in age from them. It’s been easy to talk to all the athletes. It’s been a great start.