Jordan Rasmussen
Published: November 19, 2008

DUBUQUE- Every wonder how much time and dedication goes into being an Athletic Trainer? And why they do it? Jordan Rasmussen caught up with two seniors and got the scoop.

Adam Burke and Tara Squiers, our both Athletic Trainers. They find time to laugh and work, what’s the best part of the job?

“Being around the Athletics a lot, because a lot of them are really fun, and you just get to know a lot of people.” Squiers said. “Coming to practice every day, being a part of the team is a lot of fun, traveling to different schools.” Burke said

These trainers love what they do but there is a lot of time, work and dedication they spend with the athletes.

“We come like 1 to 2 hours early, depending on what sport it is, just to set up and get everything ready,” says Squiers.

“Athletes start coming in like a half hour before and we do all the taping take care of any injuries and do all the treatments they might need,” says Burke.

Training is more than taping and treatments. Sometimes injuries happen and Squiers is able to work under pressure.

When a huge injury happens. One example Squiers shared was, “During football season, one of the players collapse and we had to call the ambulance. We had to try to keep everyone else calm like all the football players and just kind of deal with the situation. “

Training can be difficult and exhausting… Burke always finds the fun in it, he says, “I just like coming everyday and spending time, especially with soccer, soccer has been a lot of fun, so I just like coming every day.”

Jordan Rasmussen can be reached at Jordan.Rasmussen@loras.edu