8th Annual High School Symposium

On March 24, Alpha Tau Sigma held its 8th Annual High School Symposium. The event was a big success with participants attending from all over Louisiana and Texas. The morning session consisted of a taping lab, spine boarding lab, and a facilities tour, including the Football Operations Training Room and Indoor Facility. After lunch, the sessions included an anatomy and palpation lab, a stretching lab, and an equipment fitting lab. The day concluded with a discussion panel led by third year athletic training students. Thanks to all who participated and helped make this event possible!

John Norwig Visits LSU

Last month, our LSU athletic training students were fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A with Pittsburgh Steelers’ Head Athletic Trainer of 21 years, Mr. John Norwig. Norwig obtained his undergraduate degree as well as his Master's at Penn State University. He has worked at many different levels of athletics ranging from high school to professional sports. During his speech to our athletic training students, Norwig was very enthusiastic and willing to answer any questions the AT students had and took the time to described a day in the life of an athletic trainer working in the National Football League. He discussed the differences and similarities between working for a collegiate athletic team and professional one. He openly discussed his management style and approach he has used within his athletic training room. Norwig talked about both the positives and negatives of operating an athletic training room with a business approach versus one that is more family oriented in the way it deals with athletes and staff. He explained how even though the players feel it is often times about business, that there were ways to effectively develop meaningful relationships between the players, the staff, and management. Another interesting discussion centered around the Steelers Athletic Training Staff is that they are the only professional football team to have hired a full-time female athletic trainer. According to Norwig, having a female athletic trainer was a great addition and the players treated her the same as her male counterparts and respected the opinions she had to offer. Above all else, Norwig’s one piece of advice was for our athletic training students was to always have a positive attitude. Having a positive attitude will always make the athletic training room a more enjoyable atmosphere. We appreciate Mr. Norwig coming to visit with the staff and students in LSU's Athletic Training Department and wish their athletic training staff the best of luck this coming season!

GA Earns Internship with NFL Team

Congratulations to Brandon Stone, ATC, who will be joining the Arizona Cardinals for a seasonal internship for this upcoming NFL season. Brandon is a second year Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer. He has worked with the LSU Football team and LSU Swimming and Diving teams. When asked about his time here at LSU and the next step in his career, Brandon said, “My time here at LSU has been awesome. I enjoyed working with football and swimming and diving teams. I won’t forget the relationships that were formed and the knowledge that I gained. I am excited to be able to have the opportunity to go to Arizona and help with their organization.” The LSU Athletic Training family is very excited for Brandon and wishes him the best of luck!

Student of the Month

Congratulations to Tamaria Hollis, LSU’s Athletic Training Student of the Month for April! Tam is a first year student currently working with the gymnastics team. She is a great asset to the Athletic Training Program and is always eager to learn. Tam has helped to mentor the pre-professional athletic training students and is a great role model for her peers as well. When asked about Tam, Derek Calvert, ATC, Certified Graduate Athletic Trainer for LSU gymnastics, said “Tamaria has done a great job as a first year student this year. She has built a great relationship with everyone at gymnastics and has earned the trust of the girls as well. She has done a great job in building her time management skills as was evident with her working the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, covering gymnastics, and keeping up with her schoolwork. She entered our Athletic Training Program as our strongest Pre-Professional Student and has continued to be a valuable asset this year. We expect her to continue to grow as an athletic training student while she’s in the program. I’m very proud of her for being named student of the month.” Congratulations Tam!