Iowa State students aiming to be athletic trainers get ‘crash course’ at state wrestling tournament

DES MOINES — It’s like a French major’s trip to France, but for athletic training students.

It’s wrestling-immersion 101, via an annual trip to “The Well.”

“We’ve been looking forward to this for the past six weeks,” Iowa State University master’s student Jasmine Mumford, 24, told The Gazette this week while riding to the state wrestling tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

“This is really my pride and joy for athletic training at Iowa State,” graduate student Nic Hiller, 22, said about the effort he’s put into helping coordinate a team of up-and-coming trainers to staff — at least in part — the fast-moving event that pits Iowa’s top high school wrestlers against one another on up to eight mats at any given time.

“Since being in athletic training, I've been able to help at the state tournament for the past three years,” Hiller said. “And I just had a blast doing it and gained a lot of experience.”

Various sources report the first Iowa state high school wrestling tournament occurred in 1921 — and for half of that century-plus history, ISU has been providing athletic training support.

Marking its 50th year helping at one of the biggest high school events in the state, Iowa State’s Athletic Training Program this weekend sent 30 to 35 students to Des Moines — plus three of its 15 certified athletic trainers.

Although the students are supervised by certified mentors, they perform most of their duties solo, according to kinesiology clinical associate professor Mary Meier, who directs the ISU Athletic Training Program.

“They have coursework they have taken, but before each session we have a five- to 10-minute discussion going over their mat, the supplies and how to handle some situations,” Meier said. “It is a crash course.”

Mat assignments

The student workers include both undergraduates and graduates, who sit either mat-side or in a training room stocked with ice, athletic tape, gauze, braces and the ever-important nose plugs.

“Blood is probably the biggest one,” Meier said of common things they see. “You have to make sure you can control it and determine if the kid can go back. Sometimes, the match is stopped multiple times.”

Common joint injuries the ISU trainers-in-training see at the tournament involve the shoulder and the knee, Meier said. They have, in the past, occasionally had to spine-board a wrestler — just to be safe.

“Injury-wise, you’ve got football, wrestling, soccer, gymnastics and hockey that are your highest risk of catastrophic injuries that could be potentially an emergency situation,” she said. “So you really have to be prepared to act.”

As of Friday afternoon, the ISU training team had fielded standard questions and addressed minor injuries — including a few who came in to get checked after being eliminated and one person with a rib injury.

Should something come up as the tournament progresses and emotions run high, Meier said, ISU trainers are prepared to coordinate with local physicians or nearby hospitals.

“They’re always nervous when the tournament starts,” Meier said, adding they feel more comfortable with their skills and training after the first or second time they’re needed on the mat. “It’s such a good hand-on experience to actually be in the moment.”

Iowa State stations one student trainer at each mat and then a certified trainer between four pairs of mats. They have to decide whether an injury is an emergency or whether a wrestler can keep competing.

“It helps their critical thinking skills,” Meier said.

‘Sign me up’

When Iowa State first started bringing student athletic trainers to the tournament in 1972, Frank Randall was the head athletic trainer — and one of the few athletic trainers on a campus that today offers a professional master’s degree in athletic training.

Undergraduates enroll in a 3+2 program involving three years of pre-athletic training undergraduate curriculum and two years of master’s athletic training education. Students take courses on how to evaluate and prevent injuries, handle emergencies and support rehabilitation.

Randall, according to ISU Associate Athletics Director for Sports Medicine Mark Coberley, always was in search of ways athletics trainers could serve the wider public.

“And he set up outreach programs where Iowa State provided athletic trainers to different events,” Coberley said.

Today, students like Hiller play a large role in the behind-the-scenes coordination that happens weeks and even months before the state wrestling tournament.

That planning includes signing up student trainers for the nearly 60 hours of work; identifying and collecting supplies; assigning workers to various jobs; and preparing for emergencies.

ISU athletic training students don’t have to specialize in one sport to get their degree — but rather receive education across a range of sports at different levels. And trainers working the tournament don’t have to have wrestling expertise.

But many students develop interest as they keep coming back. Even this year, Meier said, some signed up to help for the first time for just one day, but asked to return for more action.

Still, graduate student Mumford said she’s seen some students shy away from the intensity of the tournament.

“Some of them do it once, and they're like, ‘Yeah, it really made me nervous, I don't want to do it again,’” she said. “And then we have some that are like, “Yes, sign me up, every session, every minute.”

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com