Athletic Training

Gina discovered athletic training while making plans to form a hip-hop dance group at the College. “Before that, geology was my major, but I took the athletic training intro class and just fell in love with the field. It was definitely hard. We had to learn 10 new muscles every day in anatomy, for instance. But I love working with people, and I love sports, so this is a good fit for me.”

She particularly enjoyed the evaluation classes where students learn to assess injuries by working on real patients with hypothetical ailments. “One professor put us through the head, spine, posture and gait evaluations, which are essentially the hardest aspects to assess. But because it was so demanding, that class really advanced my skills, and boosted my confidence tremendously. And, it got me hooked on athletic training.”

To complete the required 100 hours of observation in an athletics setting, Gina spent two weeks at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Camp. “That was really cool. I observed older individuals, so the injuries tended to be more chronic.” She also spent weeks with the College’s baseball and softball teams and a semester with the men’s soccer team, traveling to games, being on site for practices and working closely with the team’s full-time athletic trainer.

Athletic training majors also work with team doctors at the College. “We’re privileged because we get to set up for the clinics, write dictations on the patients, and we’re right there, in the room, watching what the physicians do. I think these clinics are among the best experiences of the program. At other schools, only graduate students get to do this work.”

One day, Gina plans to work in professional sports. “I’ve learned a lot so far, not just about the body and sports injuries, but also about using data reduction and different operating systems in advanced research. Ultimately, this experience will set me apart.”

Program Information

Ours is one of the largest independent art history departments in the Southeast and among only a few in the U.S. that specialize in undergraduate education. Taught by a faculty of highly trained and published scholars and professors, our curriculum prepares students for multiple careers, including gallery/museum positions, arts administration, preservation planning, as well as graduate school. The department offers a wide variety of internship positions at Charleston’s many museums, historical societies, preservation projects and community arts and preservation organizations.

Facts

Our state-of-the-art Sports Medicine Research Lab includes equipment for measuring body structure and muscle strength, and for assessing body joint movement and forces. Students also have access to our Human Performance Lab, a hydrostatic weighing tank, and a biochemistry wet lab for sample processing and analysis.

Students regularly work with the College’s athletic teams and their professional athletic trainers, as well as area sports medicine clinics, hospitals, high schools, and college athletics programs.

We put an important emphasis on adapting to the expanding technology in this field.

Opportunities

Our students intern with hospitals, medical clinics, high schools and semi-professional sports teams.

Students conduct significant research, and some present their work at professional conferences.