Welcome to the Gladiators

So my first two days working with the gladiators has been an awesome experience to have. I started out my project at probably the best time, because the first day there wasn't much happening, giving me time to get used to the swing of things before things started to really get moving.

The first day of project, the team didn't really have a practice, and in fact weren't even in their equipment, and were just doing a walkthrough. This gave me an opportunity to learn where everything is in the building, from ice to tape to equipment. It also gave me an opportunity to meet a lot of people and get to know them better. Other than talking for a long time with Dean Taylor, the head trainer and my mentor, I got a chance to meet and talk with the team's doctor, a few of the coaches, as well as some of the players. It may be a while before they all fully realize why I'm there, as at least 2 or 3 players walked into the training room monday and asked if I was Dean's son! That slight humor aside, not much else happened on the first day, because of the lack of physicality, there wasn't much to do on our side.

Tuesday was a different story. I arrived at the crack of dawn (7:15) and started prepping for the practice: water, gatorade, equipment. While I was doing this, the players started filing in the training room and I watched Dean tape up at least 30 ankles, and spatting (taping over shoes to give extra support). It was really cool to see how fast he did all of this. When practice began, he told me that starting thursday (after my AP), he will show me how to tape and deal some of the more common areas so I can help tape up the players. The team then split up, the Linemen and the skill players, onto two separate fields, and Dean let me go with the linemen group and take care of them while he stayed with the rest of the team. It was a really cool start to the project, and I am really looking forward to getting even more involved with the players and the actual duties of an Athletic Trainer.