SLU AT Students and Faculty Team Up at Nike Basketball Camp

Saint Louis University's Simon Recreation Center serves as the host site for one of the nation's top basketball events each June.  

Nike invites some of the country's top high school freshmen and sophomore basketball players to the Elite 100 Basketball Camp to help them develop their skills on and off the court.  Many of the top players currently in the NBA participated in this event over the years.

Once again this year, on June 7-10, 2018, SLU Athletic Training Program faculty and students worked side by side to provide medical care for the camp.  

This provides a great clinical connection for our program, and has emerged into a tradition and gives them a common experience over the years.

We appreciate this opportunity each year to empower our students in a fun and exciting clinical environment.

SLU AT Students Give Roosevelt HS Students a Day with the Billikens

Roosevelt High School Athletic Training Club

By: Cat Chua, Rory Cusack and Paul Lamb (SLU MAT Class of 2019)

On January 23rd, we took the Roosevelt High School (RHS) Athletic Training Club for a field trip to Saint Louis University (SLU). This club, sponsored by the Saint Louis University Athletic Training Program and funded through an Ethnic Diversity Enhancement Grant from the National Athletic Trainers' Association Ethnic Diversity Advisory Committee is designed to nurture interest in athletic training and the health professions for students at RHS.  Kemba Noel-London MAT, ATC CES coordinates the RHS AT Club along with student mentors from the SLU AT Program.

First, we took the students on a tour of the SLU athletic training room. They learned about different modalities and treatments performed in the room. They also got to meet one of the basketball players. After the tour of the training room, the students went onto the basketball court to take some pictures before the game. Then we went to Grand Hall to eat dinner. We showed videos of injuries to the students and had conversations about what an athletic trainer does in those situations. Before going to the basketball game, the students got a tour of the Simon Rec Center. At the game, the high school students got to sit in the student section where they cheered along with the rest of the SLU students and fans, received cheer items from the people leading the student section, and even met the Billiken! The basketball game field trip was a great success and so much fun for all of us.

The students were able to experience the athletic training from from an athlete’s point of view and were able to ask many questions to both the Athletic Trainer and a few athletes. The students were extremely curious as to how an Division 1 athlete juggles basketball, course work, and social life. They asked how they athlete got their scholarship and how hard they worked in high school. The students then were asking us what our thoughts on how they can get to be like those D1 athletes, or the process of walking on to a team. The students from Roosevelt are all athletes themselves, and know what hard work it takes to stay on a team and be successful. As Athletic Training students, it gave us a chance to answer questions that we normally wouldn’t get in an athletic training facility, but from high school students that are genuinely interested in what it takes to be a healthcare professional or an athlete and what life is like in college. 

Moving forward in the semester, we plan on further exposing the students to the different roles and providers on a sports medicine health care team. Over the next few meetings, the students will have the opportunity to learn more about sports performance and how athletes prepare for a game through a discussion on eating like an athlete as well as preparing for a game through a presentation on training like an athlete. An additional field trip to the SLU Anatomy Lab will be an excellent chance for club members to understand topics we’ve discussed during club meetings in a more hands-on setting. Our goal at the beginning of the year was to get the high schoolers engaged in sports medicine, and present them with opportunities to see the many ways in which it can impact their lives and the lives of the people around them. Our field trip to the SLU basketball game helped advance that goal, and with so many exciting topics ahead of us, it’s hard not to be enthusiastic about what we’ll accomplish the rest of the year with the Roosevelt High School Athletic Training club!

SLU AT Students Engage with Faculty Courtside at Nike Elite 100 Basketball Camp

Every June for the last 17 years, the campus of Saint Louis University has welcomed approximately 100 of the top men's basketball student-athletes aged 16 and under from across the country for Nike's Elite 100 Basketball Camp. 

The SLU AT  Program provides medical care for the camp, which creates a great opportunity for Faculty, Staff and Students to collaborate in a clinical context.  

At this camp, the licensed faculty and staff AT's empower the students to "learn by doing", making the most of the opportunities to interact, debrief and reflect on the experience.

During this year's Elite 100, the NBA draft was held, and many of the former players from the camp were drafted by NBA teams.  NBA legend Rasheed Wallace served as a coach at the camp.

We appreciate this opportunity to engage and learn in an enjoyable setting.

SLU AT Student Presents Poster at SLU Graduate Student Association Research Symposium

On Friday, March 31, 2017, Saint Louis University Athletic Training student Amelia Meigs (MAT Class of 2017) presented a poster of her Master of Athletic Training Capstone Project: "The Development of Cultural Competence in Athletic Training Students Through Educational Outreach at a Diverse Public High School" at the SLU Graduate Student Association Research Symposium in the Busch Student Center.

The research examines the Roosevelt High School Athletic Training Club, funded by a National Athletic Trainers' Association Ethnic Diversity Enhancement Grant, and its impact on cultural competence for the SLU AT Students who serve as mentors in the program.  

Amelia has coordinated the program this year with Faculty Mentor Anthony Breitbach PhD, ATC; Doctoral Assistant Kemba Noel-London MAT, ATC; and fellow student Jenna Ginsberg (MAT Class of 2018).

Congratulations to Amelia and all involved in this project!

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 Clinical Site Spotlight - Webster Groves High School

This is one of a series of posts by the Saint Louis University Athletic Training students featuring their clinical site and their clinical instructor. The number, quality and diversity of clinical instruction is a major asset for the SLU AT education program.

Webster Groves High School
By:  Bridget Quirk (MAT Class of 2013)

Home of the Statesmen!

I’m at Webster Groves High School with my ACI. Sean Wright ATC, and Kemba Noel-London, a second year SLU AT student. At this point in the semester, we have a system figured out to help assess, treat and rehabilitate the athletes as effectively and efficiently as possible.  We recently received a computer for the athletic training room and installed the 2011 Sportsware program. Athletes sign in everyday and check off the type of treatment they will be receiving so we can account for who comes in, their injury, and what we did for the injury.  We also make a rehab chart of exercises and modalities for each athlete so they can be more independent.  This allows us to tape and assess injuries while those with a rehab program get started their exercises.    

Sean Wright ATC (left) and SLU AT student Bridget Quirk (right) take a Webster Groves student-athlete through rehab exercises.

There is a rush of people when school gets out and Sean tries to have Kemba and I manage the majority of the flow. I usually tape, take histories, set up modalities and get athletes started on their exercises while Kemba does assessments.  After I become familiar with certain (common) injuries, Sean will let me create a rehab plan for an athlete and monitor the progress as if he/she were my patient.  Sean gives us a lot of freedom and (for the most part) let’s us do whatever we feel confident doing.  For football games, Sean has students from his high school Athletic Training class run and fill water so I can focus on the game and sidelines.  Kemba and I alternate running onto the field with Sean if an athlete is down while the other watches from the sideline, prepared to bring an AED or splints if necessary.  When Sean explains an assessment or taping technique, he will ask questions so that I can apply my anatomy and kinesiology foundation and better understand why it is done in that manner.  Not only have I practiced and improved my classroom and lab skills, but I have also learned a lot from my ACI and my experience thus far.