St. Louis Public Schools AT Clubs Wrap-up School Year with a Fun Day of Learning and Competition at SLU

Athletic Training Olympics and Health Professions Day

By: Kemba Noel-London MAT, ATC, CES

Athletic Training Olympics is a fun athletic training-based field day which is the way we wrap up AT Clubs at the end of the semester. SLU has sponsored the AT Clubs with the St. Louis Public Schools, through grant funding from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Ethnic Diversity Advisory Committee, for the past 5 years.

I was introduced to this concept on an AT Olympics during my last clinical rotation when I was a SLU AT student, at Webster Groves High School from my then clinical preceptor and the legend Sean Wright ATC. I remember thoroughly enjoying myself and saw how much his students also enjoyed having an avenue to compete and show their skills. Since then, I have taken it to any school where I have been involved in sports medicine education. I find that it is an amazing way to facilitate and encourage teamwork, communication and healthy competition, while also allowing students to enjoy the skills that they worked hard to learn. 

This year, with the introduction of an AT Club in a new Saint Louis Public School, we expanded the competition to be interscholastic rather than within the club. We wanted the students to take ownership and be protective over their clubs like any other team, with the long-term vision of the club being another avenue for them to represent their schools. 

This year's event, which took place on May 3rd at SLU’s Medical Center Campus, were: ankle taping, a 40-yard cooler carry and AT trivia “obstacle” course, ice bag making and stacking, and the coup de grace; a first responder simulation (inclusive of log rolling, as the students notified me of how often they practiced this particular skill). The students at Clyde C Miller Career Academy took the first ever “Golden Fanny Pack” award when they won the day over Roosevelt High School. 

Despite logistical challenges outside of our control, the kids had fun, and who knows, may be the start of a rivalry outside of sport. It is always a joy to create avenues for joy while also assessing the utility of our instructional methods for certain skills in the club. It is a good litmus test for how well we did that year and I look forward to it as much as the students. 

Prior to the Olympics, we had a health professions day in the SLU Allied Health Building, which include a Skype presentation from St. Louis native Murphy Grant, MS, ATC, LAT, Associate Athletic Director at University of Kansas and President of the NATA Intercollegiate Council for Sports Medicine, who imparted words of wisdom and answered some probing questions. 

They were also introduced to other health professions through a panel of faculty from the SLU Doisy College of Health Sciences and learned of the different pathways to achieve a degree in AT or other health professions. The key takeaway being, no path is the same. Whatever journey you take, do not lose sight of your goal, and see lack of representation is an opportunity not a barrier. 

Special shout out to SLU PY1 AT student Marissa Burch (MAT Class of 2020), who volunteered her time this semester to assist with the clubs. She came to each meeting ready and willing to assist and made the most of the opportunities that were presented to her. 

The SLU AT Program Kicks Off the Third Year of the Roosevelt HS AT Club

2016-17 Roosevelt High School Athletic Training Club
By: Amelia Meigs (SLU MAT Class of 2017)

We had the first meeting of the 2016-2017 Roosevelt High School Athletic Training Club just two weeks ago. 

This is the third year of the RHS AT Club, which has been funded by an Ethnic Diversity Enhancement Grant from the National Athletic Trainers' Association Ethnic Diversity Advisory Committee.  A new development this year is that RHS now has an Athletic Trainer, Kemba Noel-London MAT, ATC (SLU MAT Class of 2012), who is pursuing a PhD in Health Management and Policy with an assistantship sponsored by the Doisy College of Health Sciences.

We met at Roosevelt with a group of about 15 students, and first introduced Saint Louis University Kemba, Dr. Breitbach and our mentors (Morgan Jasperson, Amelia Meigs, Brandi Burgett). First, I presented about what an athletic trainer is, what could make a person a good fit for an athletic training career, and how to become an athletic trainer.

Then we discussed what matters to the RHS students—a large focus of our club this year. We are aiming to meet the students where they are to provide them with the tools for a successful career in sports medicine based on their interests. We want to allow them to develop professionalism before entering a program, and allow them to understand the process of becoming an athletic trainer.

Then we got on to the real fun—teaching the students how to tape an ankle! All the Roosevelt High School students were excited to learn this new skill. Some of the students have been in our club all 3 years, and those students were able to assist their classmates in taping. I’m always surprised and amazed at the quality of the tape jobs by these first-time tapers—many of them are athletes and have an intuitive understanding of athletic training, even though this is the first year Roosevelt High School has an athletic trainer. 

Still to come this semester is a meeting with a Dietitian from Saint Louis University, a SLU basketball game, and much more!

SLU AT Alum Kemba Noel-London Returns to SLU to Pursue Doctorate

I'm Back!!!!

By: Kemba Noel-London MAT, ATC, CES (SLU MAT Class of 2012)

I am a Certified Athletic Trainer originally from the country of Trinidad and Tobago. I completed my BS in Exercise Science and Master of Athletic Training degrees at Saint Louis University in 2011 and 2012 respectively

After graduation, I went on to an internship at the University of South Carolina-Columbia. There, I was the Head Athletic Trainer for Swansea High School, Freshman Academy and Sandhills Middle School.  I also taught Sports Medicine at the high school as well as aided in the instruction of Musculoskeletal Evaluation courses at USC.

I returned to my twin island home in August 2013 and have been working at the international level with multiple national teams, including rugby and Women’s Soccer. I have also been a part of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee’s medical staff at the Commonwealth Games, Central American and Caribbean Games and PanAmerican Games. During my time at home, I joined the staff of Academy of Sport at the University of Trinidad and Tobago and was also the Athletic Trainer in residence at Movement Mechanics, a high performance facility.

I am excited to be returning to SLU to pursue a PhD in Public Health while also working with SLU and the school-based Mercy Clinic to care for all the students at Roosevelt High School.  I will also be a lab instructor for MAT classes at SLU.

Go Billikens!