Athletic Training

The Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) is a highly educated and skilled allied health professional specializing in caring for the physically active population. In cooperation with physicians and other health care professionals, the athletic trainer functions as in integral member of the athletic health care team in secondary schools, colleges and universities, sports medicine clinics, professional sports programs and other athletic health care settings. As specialists in the prevention, recognition and rehabilitation of injuries incurred during physical activity, athletic trainers administer immediate emergency care and, under the direct supervision of a physician, employ their knowledge and skill to develop treatment and rehabilitation programs to return the previously injured participant to physical activity. At the College of Charleston, you can obtain the knowledge and skills to excel in this sports medicine profession.

The Athletic Training major prepares students for careers and advanced studies in medicine (physician assistant, physician), physical therapy, athletic training and other allied health professions. This degree program also qualifies graduates to sit for the National Athletic Trainers’ certification examination to become a Board of Certification (BOC) certified athletic trainer, also known as a Certified Athletic Trainer or ATC. Certified athletic trainers are employed in secondary schools, two-year institutions, four-year colleges and universities, professional sports teams, as well as in non-traditional venues such as sports medicine clinics and various industrial settings.

To continue their education, Athletic Training graduates have:

received graduate assistantships at schools such as the University of South Carolina, University of North Carolina, The University of Virginia, Clemson University, Auburn University, the University of Tennessee, Old Dominion University and The Citadel;
earned graduate degrees in fields like kinesiology and sports medicine;
earned masters and doctoral level degrees in physical therapy;
become physician assistants and nurses;
completed teacher education programs and earned teaching certificates.

A major in Athletic Training prepares you to:

work in a variety of medical and allied health setting such as sports medicine physical therapy clinics and medical offices and clinics;
work in a high school or college sports medicine setting;
serve as an athletic trainer for professional athletes;
function as an athletic trainer or personal fitness instructor in a corporate wellness setting;
work as an educator or researcher in college and university athletic training education programs.

Active Learning Opportunities

The Athletic Training major curriculum is structured to provide both classroom and hands-on clinical education. The academic coursework includes such courses as anatomy, human and exercise physiology, kinesiology, orthopedic evaluation and assessment, pathology and treatment of illness, therapeutic modalities and therapeutic exercise, in addition to pharmacology, sports nutrition, counseling and professional development. The clinical education component of the major provides students the unique opportunity to participate in extensive clinical experiences in collegiate and high school sports medicine venues as well as in sports medicine physical therapy clinics and physicians’ offices and clinics. Over the course of five semesters you’ll accumulate clinical experience working with over 20 different clinical instructors at 11 affiliate sites in addition to our own facilities at the Johnson Center and at the Patriots Point Athletics Complex.

Clinical Experiences.
Athletic Training students accepted into the Athletic Training Education Program can participate in clinical education experiences in any of the following Charleston area affiliated sports medicine settings:

the College of Charleston’s Athletic Training facilities downtown or at Patriot’s Point Athletic Complex;
the Citadel;
three public high schools;
two private high schools;
two sports medicine and physical therapy clinics;
a federal law enforcement training center;
a medical university and hospital;
an orthopedic sports medicine physician’s office.

Student research.
As part of their coursework, students will engage in independent research in an area of interest. Areas of research may include:

muscle strength and flexibility characteristics;
assessment of ankle instability;
foot and arch measurements related to ankle injury risk;
validity and reliability of muscle testing devices;
validity of tests for lower back injuries.

Learning Resources

New facilities are currently under construction. They will include a new state-of-the-art, 2,800-sq.-ft. athletic training room, additional classrooms and laboratories.

Academic laboratories include a Biodex Isokinetic Dynamometer, a VO2 Max treadmill laboratory, a hydrostatic weighing laboratory, and the Richard N. Godsen Laboratory of Exercise Physiology. All laboratories are part of your practical experiences in exercise physiology and are used by students when conducting research.

Other Special Opportunities

Clubs and organizations.
Students and faculty gather together at department-wide meetings each fall and spring, where new majors are introduced to the clubs that promote professional development. Athletic Training majors are encouraged to join the Student Sports Medicine Club, which is open to all College of Charleston students.

Student Sports Medicine Association supplements educational opportunities in the ever-changing fields of sports medicine and athletic training through guest speakers, hands-on learning sessions, and seminar/conference attendance. Each semester club members host a lecture series whereby students can hear lectures from and meet various medical and allied health professionals from the Charleston area. Students also plan trips to sports medicine conferences such as the Southeast American College of Sports Medicine annual meeting and clinical symposium and the South Carolina College Athletic Trainers’ Workshop.
Students also volunteer to provide medical and athletic training services at local and regional sporting events such as the Cooper River Bridge Run, the Laura Griffin Run, youth sports matches and tournaments and the South Carolina High School Athletic Trainers’ Workshop.

“The Athletic Training program at the College of Charleston gave me the hands-on experience and knowledge to become fully comfortable in evaluating and treating sports-related injuries and conditions. I am now a physician’s assistant in orthopedics, and I utilize the tools that I learned through the College’s Athletic Training Education Program every day when caring for my patients.”

Erin N. Watrobski ’02