SLU AT Student Experiences Collaborative Athletic Health Care with the Minnesota Golden Gophers

SLU AT Summer Field Experience Spotlight - University of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics
By: Adam Long PT, DPT (SLU MAT Class of 2019)

For my first summer field experience, I worked alongside Jeff Winslow MS, ATC, CSCS, associate athletic trainer for men’s ice hockey at the University of Minnesota. With summer being the off-season for ice hockey, most of our responsibilities took place off the ice, primarily in the athletic training room-located at ice level of 3M Arena at Mariucci.

With incoming freshman, pre-participation evaluations must be performed to rule out any medical conditions which may negatively affect the athlete and to promote overall health and safety during sport. Additionally, baseline ImPACT and SCAT testing were administered for concussion monitoring during the upcoming season. Meetings with the team orthopedic surgeon were scheduled to monitor athletes’ progress through rehab moving towards a return to skating and drills on ice.

I also gained experience from both administrative aspects and interprofessional collaboration at the University of Minnesota. Communication among coaching personnel, strength and conditioning coaches, athletic trainers, counseling, physicians, graduate assistants and more, detail the amount of involvement required when responsible for the student athletes. Additionally, I gained insight about the role of athletics director, medical director, and its relation to the entire body of athletic medicine-with their goal to create a collaborative care model for athletics.

Finally, I was fortunate to get exposure to football summer activities. Michael Sypniak ATC, associate and head athletic trainer for football provided me opportunity to see the inner workings of his staff and team and how they function. With a large number of athletes to monitor-it takes a coordinated effort to provide coverage and treatment.

I definitely found benefit from my experience at the University of Minnesota as it further clarified what an athletic training position would look like at a Big Ten University.

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.

Golden Gopher Hockey Gives SLU AT Student a "Cool" Summer Internship

Summer Internship Blog Post - University of Minnesota
By: Angie Vitale (MAT Class of 2015)

This summer I had an amazing internship opportunity at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.  Under the direction of athletic trainer Jeff Winslow ATC, I spent the summer working with the Men’s hockey team. Having never worked in a D1 environment before, I was not sure what to expect.  I quickly learned that a higher level of performance means a much higher degree of dedication, commitment, and hard work.  Even in their off season, these men come in everyday bright and early ready for whatever work out their strength and conditioning coach has made up for them.  Even after these rigorous work outs, many of them spend time on the ice, getting prepared for the coming season.

This level of play comes with it many perks in the athletic training room.  Many sponsors supply additional advanced modalities that I have never personally used before.  With all this advanced technology, however, the main thing I have learned from Jeff is that what we as athletic trainers do is primarily done with our own two hands.  Given all that he has to offer his athletes, his favorite techniques are still active release therapy, massage, and joint mobilizations.  As he has shown, it builds a higher level of trust and interaction with the athletes.

This has been a very eye opening experience into the world of D1 collegiate athletics.  In these past few months I have seen many chronic issues, some acute, and many athletes performing daily rehab. Athletes come in the training room to work, knowing that it will better their future performance.  They trust Jeff’s advice as well as the advice of their other superiors, and do what is requested of them.  I am very grateful for my time here and look forward to seeing what Golden Gophers hockey brings in the coming year!

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