Dr. Ray Castle as Stephenson Disaster Institute Senior Fellow

We are proud to announce that LSU's Athletic Training Curriculum Program Director, Dr. Ray Castle, has been appointed to be a Senior Fellow for the Stephenson Disaster Management Institute (SDMI).  Because of Dr. Castle’s extensive background in Athletic Training (20 years experience) and experience coordinating the medical coverage for a variety of athletic events, he is uniquely qualified for this position.  Dr. Castle is adding this post to other positions including Medical Coordinator for the Louisiana Marathon.  He also has experience working with the Boston Marathon, Ironman Triathlon, and providing medical coverage for high school, collegiate, and international athletics. 

Dr. Castle has a number of responsibilities as Senior Fellow.  He will advise on disaster and emergency management, concentrating specifically on critical incident management and planning for a variety of local and state athletic events.  Dr. Castle also has the opportunity to submit articles for publication through the Stephenson Disaster Management Institute.  Lastly, he will be responsible for presenting information, performing research studies, educating other healthcare providers, and representing the SDMI at a variety of events. 

Congratulation to Dr. Castle on this commendable achievement! We know he works very hard, and we proud of everything he continues to accomplish. 

Students Volunteer at the Louisiana Marathon

Every year a group of LSU Athletic Training Students volunteer at the Louisiana Marathon.  This year we had over 20 students from our curriculum program helping to provide medical coverage to those participants in the marathon.  Dr. Ray Castle served his second term as the Medical Coordinator for the marathon.  One of our third year students, Derek Carter, also served as the Medical Coordinator Intern this year.  Derek’s responsibilities included: assisting in developing the medical protocols for the marathon, planning the volunteer assignments, race-day coordination of on-course medical care, and other duties related to the health and well-being of the participants.  When asked about his experience with the marathon, Derek told us, “Working with the Louisiana Marathon organizing committee helped me gain the knowledge and skills necessary to work with multiple agencies at the local, state, and federal level along with private entities.  It is truly amazing the planning that goes into a citywide event and the cooperation of everyone.  The event taught me management and planning skills that I will be able to use throughout my career.  The experience left me with a new perspective on large scale event planning.” The marathon this year had over 90 volunteers that worked throughout the weekend to provide care to over 300 runners. 

The program is extremely proud of Dr. Castle, Derek, and the other students that volunteered their time to help those running.  They gained invaluable experience and represented LSU Athletic Training well. 

The Official Date of the High School Symposium

The official date for our 11th Annual High School Athletic Training Symposium has finally been released! Students will be able to participate in hands-on labs, tours of the LSU Athletic Training facilities, and interact with the LSU Athletic Training family.  It will be on March 25, 2015 from 8 AM to 2 PM at LSU Football Operations Building.  The registration fee for each student is $25, which includes lunch and an LSU Athletic Training Symposium T-Shirt.  Please come out and enjoy an eventful and educational day with the LSU Athletic Training Program.  For more information about registration, the symposium, and to see pictures of past symposiums visit the Spring Athletic Training Symposium link at www.lsuats.blogspot.com.

January Student of the Month

Congratulation to Leslie Payne who was chosen as Student of the Month for January!  Leslie is a senior who currently works with Women's Tennis and has worked with LSU's Swimming and Diving and Central High School.  Her preceptor Daniel stated that "she is a phenomenal student, always going above and beyond my expectations.  She related well with our athletes and they enjoy having her around.  It has been a pleasure having Leslie as my student."  Leslie is always a smiling face and contributes a great deal to the positive environment of the athletic training room.  Congratulations again to Leslie Payne.

Upcoming Southeastern Athletic Training Association Conference

It's that time of year again!  The Southeastern Athletic Training Association’s annual conference is here! This year, two of our second year Athletic Training Students, Erin Holle and Olivia Wishman, have been chosen for the oral presentation of their case studies they submitted last semester.  Some of the students chosen to present posters at the conference were Armand Daigle, Desstin Alcorn, and Macy Simoneaux .  Laura Mckowen and Brandon Cazaubon will lead LSU’s team for the annual quiz bowl as well.  Congratulations to all of the students who were chosen to present their case studies.  The students attending the conference will not only present their case studies but also participate in two days worth of seminars on many different subjects pertaining to athletic training.  Some of the topics covered in the seminars include: kinesiotaping, joint mobilizations, and clinical documentation.  We wish the best of luck to those participating in the quiz bowl and during the presentations. We are very excited to expose our intelligent and talented Athletic Training Students to the rest of the Southeastern Athletic Training community.  

2015 High School Symposium in the Making

Spring is around the corner and you know what that means! The High school Athletic Training Student Symposium is on its way! Last year we had approximately seven high schools attend and it was a huge success! The students rotated around to different stations and learned a wide range of what athletic trainers deal with throughout their careers. Some of the stations were taping, spine boarding, splinting, and seminars about concussions and nutrition. Our own Athletic Training Students brought Tiger Hearts to the symposium. Tiger Hearts allowed for our high school students to know how to utilize the “hands only” CPR technique. We can’t share the secrets we have up our sleeves for this year’s symposium but we have set the standards high to keep educating high school students about what being an athletic trainer is all about.

Welcoming Dr. Amanda Benson to the Family

We are excited to announce that Dr. Amanda Benson has finally arrived to LSU and joined the LSU Athletic Training family. Dr. Benson is originally from south of Buffalo, NY where she attended University of Buffalo and received her bachelors in Exercise Science. She attended Graduate School at Eastern Kentucky where she received her Master’s in Physical Education with a concentration of Sports Administration and then her PhD at Southern Mississippi. Amanda worked at Troy University for 11 years, 4 of which as their Clinical Coordinator and the other 7 as the Department and Program Chair. When asked what she wanted to bring to LSU she replied, “I would like to bring a different perspective to this excellent academic program. This program has so much to offer and I just want to help bolster it and bring new ideas to the table and continue to make it better!”

Thank you Dr. Amanda Benson and welcome to your new home!