SLU AT Student Grows Professionally Through Experience with the Saint Louis Football Club

SLU AT Summer Field Experience Spotlight - Saint Louis Football Club

By: Cody Hutson (SLU MAT Class of 2019)

This summer I have had the honor of working with Saint Louis’ professional soccer team, Saint Louis Football Club (STLFC). I have always wanted to have my career to be focused on soccer and this is the perfect opportunity for me to peek into what that world would be like. I am stationed at Toyota Stadium in Fenton and help treat and maintain the health and fitness of the professional athletes. 

I have the pleasure to learn from the STLFC Head Athletic Trainer Mr. Brian Bounds MPT, ATC, LAT, CSCS. We spend a lot of time working with athletes to both rehabilitate and loosen them up before practice and games. This has made it so that the experience is far different from what I have experienced before. I used to depend on primarily tape and doing exams on athletes with modalities as a main treatment option. After working with Mr. Bounds for a while I can say with confidence that I understand the importance of using your hands to release muscles and deep tissue. It is something I don’t think I would have experienced anywhere else and is something I am looking forward to applying myself once I am a certified Athletic Trainer. 

Aside from manual techniques I am also learning the importance of being professional in both appearance and in action. One quote that I will always carry with me is “Your Athletic Training room and your environment are a direct reflection of yourself, and are important in your appearance as a professional.” 

I have already gotten more than half of my requirements finished at this site, but I don’t plan on leaving until the very last second so that I may continue to learn and develop from what I believe is my dream clinical site.

Students in the Saint Louis University Athletic Training Program have an immersive field experience in the summer between their two professional years in the program. This blog post details a student's reflection on their experience.

SLU AT Student Gets Soccer Experience at Multiple Levels with STLFC and St. Louis Scott Gallagher

SLU AT Summer Field Experience Spotlight - Mercy Sports Medicine/STLFC/St. Louis Scott Gallagher

By: Alex Hubbs (SLU MAT Class of 2018)

Splitting time between the Saint Louis Football Club and Saint Louis Scott Gallagher Club Football has been a beneficial clinical experience operating under Mercy Sports Medicine. The guidance of both Brian Bounds, MPT, ATC, LAT, CSCS and Emily Costabile, ATC (SLU MAT class of 2015) has been instrumental to my clinical education, and I am thankful for their open mindedness towards new ideas, as well as their vast knowledge of all things sports medicine. Each of them urge continuous education and present new challenges to tackle as a team each day.

STLFC has allowed me to expand and improve upon my manual therapy techniques under ATC Brian Bounds. Managing professional soccer players requires a lot of focus and dedication - not only from the athletic training staff, but from the athletes as well.

Working with this club has been incredible, and each player has shown their dedication to their team and sport throughout my time interacting with them. With the help of Brian, we have implemented preventative exercises into their warm-ups, as well as the utilization of GPS Sports Tracker technology to track each player’s exertion levels day-to-day.

In contrast, SLSG has allowed me to focus on evaluation skills on a broad spectrum of soccer athletes. Collaborating with Emily Costabile on common mechanisms of injury, prevention of those injuries, and how to treat them when they do occur, has improved my skills as a clinician.

SLSG is a great clinical example of a site at which an ATC may not know every athlete that they cover, so establishing trust quickly and effectively with each new athlete we see is essential.

Emily’s flexibility towards her ever-changing population is an admirable trait I hope to carry as a future ATC. The guidance of each preceptor this summer has been extremely beneficial, and I am thankful for the opportunity to work with two incredibly diverse and challenging patient populations.

Students in the Saint Louis University Athletic Training Program have an immersive field experience in the summer between their two professional years in the program. This blog post details a student's reflection on their experience.

SLU AT Student Grows Clinical Skills in Professional Setting with STLFC

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Saint Louis Football Club

By: Amelia Meigs (SLU MAT Class of 2017)

The last 6 weeks, I have had the privilege of working with the Saint Louis Football Club team, under their Head Athletic Trainer, Brian Bounds, MPT, ATC, LAT, CSCS. Working with a professional-level team is markedly different than my previous clinical experiences. While I have previously worked with soccer, the level of athlete, training, and healthcare are very different. My background in soccer has become useful as Brian and I have worked together to improve current injury prevention efforts and streamline the team’s exercises. Brian leads cool-down each day at practice, so we are developing a rotation of stretches and exercises that are relevant to the elite soccer player.

Working with the athletes at Saint Louis FC has been incredible--the dedication and effort of these players to improve their personal fitness and wellbeing makes injury prevention easy. While we spend a lot of time managing current injuries, we are also able to spend a significant amount of time analyzing data through the GPS trackers and heart rate monitors the players wear at each practice. Since this technology is new to STLFC, we are exploring the technology and are able to use it to guide our practice. I have gained a lot of soccer-specific knowledge, including the most common muscular deficits soccer players face.

Brian has been an excellent preceptor so far, allowing me input into decisions and pushing me to research new topics. His dedication to athletic training and to the continual pursuit of a better way to perform his job is an exemplary model for my own practice. The lessons I have learned at STLFC will lead me in my future career.

This is one of a series of posts by the Saint Louis University Athletic Training students featuring their clinical site and their preceptors. The number, quality and diversity of clinical instruction are major assets for the SLU AT Program.

SLU AT Student Experiences Collaborative Healthcare Provided at the Professional Level with Saint Louis FC

SLU AT Summer Field Experience Spotlight - Saint Louis Football Club, St. Louis, MO
By: Morgan Jasperson (SLU MAT Class of 2017)

For the past two months I have been gaining clinical experience at Saint Louis FC, the professional soccer club based in Fenton, MO. It has been an incredible experience to work with both the high level athletes and the Mercy Sports Medicine Team that provides coverage to the them. 

Brian Bounds, ATC, the club's Head Athletic Trainer and my preceptor, has been working with soccer at all levels for over a decade. After earning a bachelors’ degree in kinesiology from Michigan State and a masters in Physical Therapy from Missouri State, Bounds founded a youth soccer camp before leaving to work with the Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting KC) of the MLS. He has also worked with collegiate soccer at Northwestern University and Missouri State, and most recently at Indian Hills Community College where he built their athletic training program from the ground up. 

On a daily basis, Bounds and I go through a variety of treatments with the athletes, from massage and soft tissue mobilizations to ultrasound and e-stim. That being said, Bounds places a great deal of emphasis on manual therapies and getting ‘hands on’ with the athletes, which has allowed me to further my knowledge and skillset in this area. I have also become responsible for a lot of communication between the medical staff, coaching staff, the other interns, and the players. At first this was quite daunting, but as the summer has gone along I have become incredibly appreciative for the opportunity to practice my professional communication skills. Furthermore, because the medical coverage is provided through Mercy Sports Medicine, I have been able to work with a vast range of health professionals in my time with the club, including orthopedic surgeons, chiropractors, physical therapists, and our CSCS. 

Overall, this has been an incredibly rewarding summer field experience. Having the ability to work with a new club, with young guys, and an incredibly experienced AT has really challenged me to grow and advance my own knowledge and abilities. I look forward to finishing out the summer strong!

 #AllFleurOne  

Students in the Saint Louis University Athletic Training Program have a required field experience in the summer between their two professional years in the program.  This blog post details a student's reflection on their experience.