• Quiz Bowl Success
    Jul 10 2025
    Joseph Eberhardt and Dawson Sports Medicine were preparing for a 3-peat at the time of this recording. Spoiler alert they placed 3rd in the 2025 state championships. For those of us who may not know what is GHATS? And what is it all about? Chris Shaddock brought me into Sports Medicine as an eighth grader GHATS hosts a workshop for student Athletic Trainer Aides. The workshop is to educate and expose students to the profession. Numerous courses and rotations provide students with opportunities to learn and explore their interests. I was uncoordinated and unathletic, and I needed people who understood me. My sophomore year was the first year of the QuizBowl in GHATS. Chris told them: Do not embarrass me, watch the quiz bowl, and learn. Learn it, love it, win it. My senior year, I wanted to keep competing and so we were doing speed drills, we acquired a quiz bowl buzzer, we did scrimmages…And we finally won. I went on to college and came back to GHATS to recruit the student AT aides from Houston. We won 5 championships and have been in the finals 7 times. I began developing the program so that we as a staff, are involved. We start studying for them in August. As part of our student AT workshop, before school starts. If we win this year, we will be the leading state title holders in our entire district. We study one 30-minute session each week starting from week one. 13 students were at each of these sessions I write 200 new questions each year so the students can not just memorize them. I introduce them only at the scrimmage. Region 6 has created a clause that requires the question to be fully read before the students can buzz in. The quality of competition has increased What did that look like through college? 1 year at Texas A&M Corpus Christi we competed. It was a different style quiz bowl that was more like Kahoot. What does the state quiz bowl competition look like? The last two years was at Tarelton State. We came in early Sunday to settle in Then they host the AT Olympics. Monday morning they start the state competition like a track meet. Multiple events and your points total place you. This year there is a rubric that enables the student to learn exactly what is being required. After lunch was the quiz bowl just like GHATS. Tournament style with buzzers, head to head. They have a skills requirement list that they must learn and have signed off on by the professionals. How do you keep kids motivated and engaged? Are they intrinsically motivated? Both I push hard but it’s because they show up and want to be there. Give us your tips for success. ENJOY IT - the whole process Ernest Shackleton - Difficulties are obstacles to be overcome
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    28 mins
  • AT in Connecticut
    Jun 25 2025
    Jess Testani leads the Connecticut Athletic Trainers' Association and is a former AT of the year recipient. What is your AT Story? When did you get introduced to Athletic Training? Where did you go to college? Where was your first job? How long have you been practicing? Grew up as an injured athlete in high school Erik Lanaes at Sacred Heart Attended Sacred Heart Univ Played soccer there with 2 significant injuries that left me without soccer I took an Intro to AT course My mentor, Tim Spiker, told me I was an Athletic Trainer and not a PT The ability to multitask and think outside the box. Shenandoah University for the ELM They were big on the challenge and immersion of the AT Program Spent a season with Rutgers football Then went to DC United and realized the schedule didn't fit my desired life I found the secondary setting was my real calling Got into the Physician practice so I could spend time with family, but still felt lacking in the depth and connection with the athletes. You were named the CATA AT of the Year in 2019. Tell me about that. Have as many conversations with ATs as you can. The then Vice president started asking me how we could change and push the profession. From there I came to the board meeting and met the members, and the rest became history. I became the secondary schools committee chair and worked to improve communication and connection. What is a unique aspect of Athletic Training in your state? I feel like our scope of practice is the best for ATs What is a big challenge for Athletic Trainers in your state? Similar to every other state - perceived value Work life balance We are a small state with smalled programs. So there are not a lot of ATs trying to take our place. Functional shortage = shortage of numbers available for that setting Contact: Jess - presidentCATA@gmail.com Jeremy - @SportsMedicineBroadcast New Code: SMB
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    32 mins
  • AT in Delaware
    Jun 11 2025
    Heather Heidel leads the Delaware Athletic Trainers' Association. She has spent half of her career serving on the state association in Delaware. What is your AT Story? When did you get introduced to Athletic Training? During my high school sports career, I was often injured, and the AT became a mentor to me. A surgery in my junior year led to my not playing basketball as a senior. Did an internship as a senior Where did you go to college? UD & Cal U of PA Where was your first job? Tidewater Physical Therapy in Milton, DE How long have you been practicing? 16 yrs When did you get involved with the Delaware Athletic Trainers Association? In my 7th year as a secretary for 4 years The past two years, the president-elect What is a unique aspect of Athletic Training in your state? I know almost all of the ATs in our state We are 1.5 hours from top to bottom What is a big challenge for Athletic Trainers in Delaware? Turnover rate Turnover rate Funding for positions The long-term hires are through the district rather than a clinical outreach. In 2024, you had the Block grant to fund ATs in every school. Can you talk about that? 2 million dollars annually It is divided among the public schools based on enrollment and is only allowed to be used for hiring an athletic trainer. We have used a lot of the AT Your Own Risk data to educate lawmakers. If you had to pick another state to live and work in which one would it be and why? Hawaii They mandate ATs, and I love the beach. You're recruiting ATs to work in Delaware…what is your sales pitch? We have a lot of young ATs and a lot of mentors. We are small and tight-knit Contact Us:
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    28 mins
  • Mind Mirror Round 2
    May 28 2025
    Quick overview of Mind Mirror for those who missed the first podcast. Artificial intelligence is used to give a risk assessment of someone who potentially has a concussion. Correlation is one element used to determine if the patient has a concussion Coming straight in from bright light, which could restrict the pupils, but the correlation should be the same. Light intensity, fatigue, and cold can affect pupils. Taking Nyquil or something that makes you groggy or sluggish will negatively impact the test results. Hit the maximum restriction in one second or less; it should not be three or more seconds. The Athletic Trainer needs to know what is currently going on with the athlete. Age can also have a very slow response, which is why the app looks at other factors. PLR - healthy score indicates a high probability that the athlete does not have a concussion. A score lower than .8 indicates a high probability that the athlete does have a concussion. Caffeine’s effect? Caffeine can constrict the pupils; in Emma's case, her pupils were very constricted due to a possible combination of the caffeine and light restriction. You can use a light meter to help tell if the pupils are restricted. Mind Mirror's Indoor versus Outdoor differential? Try to do it in a shaded area or inside, and try to do it in an area that does not affect pupils Does it matter if you do the baseline test or the after-incident test? Exact same test, just allows them to segment the data. Will the administrator be able to see the results in the app? Yes When using the Mind Mirror app it asks test result is normal or not normal before we see the results. Should we be able to see that before? SOAP, what did you observe? Did you observe things in a normal or abnormal state? Are things normal? They will be removed in the next version. Clarify the colors a little more. One of our results showed .09 and was orange. Color scheme: green, light orange, to red An extremely low score should have shown up in red Will look into why it did not come up as red, yellow ,or orange is trending toward higher risk How is the new prototype with more biomarkers coming along? Starting development, exposing to customers, they do their observation and send notes back, send observations ,the advance score of the risk probability, the advanced model is now currently being combined into the app Does the environment of the test matter? It seemed we got different results from indoors vs. outdoors in the shade. Lighting does matter Is there any more research you would like to do in the future? What do you want to prove? There are very few studies on female athletes and brain studies, not a lot of info, looking into studies on female rugby, looking at a lot of studies of different ages, not a lot of info on studies How do you intend to begin selling the product when it is ready? Will it be a monthly service? A one-time fee? Discounts for bulk pricing(multiple accounts)? A variety of pricing models, the goal is to get it into the hands of as many people as possible Youth leagues and high schools are a bulk price, $5.00 for 1 year or $2.50 for 3 years Could you ever see Mind Mirror being bought out and implemented in one of the other concussion testing systems? Have had conversations with Sway to provide them with an objective measurement. Healthy Roster, incorporating MindMirror results into the system. The goal is to add sensors to help tell if protective gear should be added, and telehealth The next model will have biomarkers for risk, age, and other health issues Contact: Mind Mirror - info@mindmirror.health Glenn Bowers - glennb@mindmirror.health Ben Stephenson - https://www.instagram.com/_benstephenson/ Emma Gunnin - Jeremy - @SportsMedicineBroadcast on IG
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Cognitive FX – Dr. Alina Fong
    May 14 2025
    Cognitive FX can help your long term concussion sufferers get back to normal daily function. Imagine 8 hours per day for 2 weeks focused on restoring your cognitive function. Explain what Cognitive FX is. Functional MRI FMRI - use the same scanner, the process is different, and the information is different Located in Utah Athletic trainers are integral and 1/15 of the treatment team, a large, multidisciplinary, interconnected team Intense approach to therapy, rather than 1 or 2 appointments, it is an 8-hour appointment for 2 weeks, patients come from all over the world What role does the Athletic Trainer play in CognitiveFX? At least 3 ATs on staff. Athletic Trainers have not been easy to find. We have gone to the NATA and other conferences. We need them. CognitiveFX will train the ATs to understand functional MRI and how the brain is connected to the body. Cranial nerves and integration. Use a lot of AT tools with the body mechanism See patients between 18-40 and they do lots of sports, ex. Skiing, sports, slipping, and falling on ice. They do a lot of specialized training, which is connecting the brain to the body What are you looking for in an Athletic Trainer? Looking for someone that is willing to learn, some right out of school and some 20+ years, someone that is always curious and eager to learn, don’t know everything about the brain, cognitive fx is an exciting science, booking for curious and trainable, not focused on experience. Every concussion is not the same What are the statute of limitations…can we “fix” a 4-year-old cognitive deficit from a sports concussion? every one knows 5 people that have had concussions and have lingering symptoms, they are not the same but they look normal so they get ignored, no statute of limitations, have pts from 3 months to 3 decades after injury and still see improvement, younger and closer the better, still have seen huge improvements even decades later I appreciate that the pricing is listed on the website. How often do insurances cover some of the treatments afterwards? Insurance reimbursement is different based on insurance companies, on average, 60-80% coverage depending on your insurance plan. The therphies are ones that people can get everywhere, so no problem with insurance. The scans are when insurance gets iffy, the companies don't understand why we need 4 scans: 2 Brain FMRI and 2 Neck FMRI Typically, insurance companies don't cover all of the MRI exams, the therapies do get covered The costs are because so much attention is given to the patient for 8 hours a day. 24,700 price for two weeks 13,000 for one week Athletic Trainers stay a long time Insurance isn't timing the therapists, so they can do what they want at the clinic. They can alter plans without having to do insurance approval. The first clinic was in paternship with Tom Brady and his best friend who is a Trainer, opened TB12 in Foxburrough., treat a lot of professional athletes, everyone gets concussions and they worked with the best of the best athletes, some people seem superhuman because they heal so differently, wants everyone to feel that their brain can change if given the special attention EPIC treatment: is it like a camp where patients stay overnight? Clinic is in utah, people from all over the world, 3 pts from netherlands, 2 from canada, rest from US all over, 2 from utah, 15 pts this week, they are there for 2 solid weeks back to back, this scan is different, using a regular MRI but lying down and doing neuro psy tasks, not looking at structures instead having them do tasks, FMRI picks up changing happening in the brain, that is when they see some parts of the brain are not working well and some are componstating for other parts Each scan looks different, looking at how the brain metabolizes oxygen, intense program built around the patient
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    31 mins
  • Women In AT Advice
    Apr 30 2025
    Megan Smith joins Emma Gunnin and Kayla Razo to share some advice from a young professional woman in AT to upcoming professional women in Athletic Training. Megan Smith showed my family around the University of Delaware while we were on vacation. Megan, thanks for showing my family around the facilities of the University of Delaware. It was an absolute pleasure getting to meet virtual friends in real life. What is new with Women in AT? Recent addition of new board members to create new opportunities for work and growing the board. Rolling out mentorship for members. Wanting engagement and also to answer questions, looking for more opportunities. Possible meet up at NATA and a book club, Created a book club during COVID to help engage, What Made Maddie Run was recommended to read. We are going to try to find something light for the close of the spring season. Emma is about to graduate and enter the workforce. What do you wish you knew? Have conversations early about improvement. Ask them to regularly meet with you about how you can improve. Have a growth mindset. I wish I had someone who came to me offering to help and mentor me. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or admit you do not have the answer. Schedule regular meetings with your supervisor. Kayla is in her first year as an MAT student wanting to work in college athletics. What should she know? Work with smaller groups Develop strong relationships Proactively communicate Take note of the communication style of your coaches to improve the process. How do I deal with an “old school” coach who does not trust a female? Try to have all of the answers ready. Be open with communication. Make sure you document any sort of misunderstanding. Think about the long-term goal. Communicate with your supervisor often so you are on the same team and they can help you work through the struggles. How do I transition into being a professional? That grind mentality doesn’t go away…unless you are burnt out and looking to leave. Take care of yourself, fill your cup. I enjoy working out through CrossFit Monday-Friday I do a 5-minute journal daily. There is nothing wrong with the grind if it brings you joy and passion. One thing we do at the University of Delaware is a cross-coverage calendar so we can plan around life events. Do you know what you, as your best self looks like? Write it down so you know what “center” is for you. Contact: Megan - @MeganSmithATC Emma - @emma_addisong Kayla - @kayla.jean5 Jeremy - @SportsMedicineBroadcast
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    Less than 1 minute
  • AT in Colorado
    Apr 16 2025
    AT in Colorado is growing, and you can get a little bit of everything there. The Olympic Training Center brings in top-caliber athletes. Jeb Davis shares what he loves about Colorado What is your AT Story? Often-injured high school athlete and went to the physician’s office for back pain where I worked one-on-one with an AT in a rehab setting Nancy Condit in Missoula, Montana. We had a GA show up to help with high school basketball, and I learned more about the traditional role of the AT. Went to New Mexico State University Worked in outpatient clinics in the southwest Went to grad school at the University of Pennsylvania Worked with women’s and men’s basketball at the University of New Mexico I then became the clinical coordinator at Fort Lewis College, where I worked as the clinical coordinator and program director, as well as outreach for the secondary school. Durango is the best of both worlds: mountains and the desert Outdoor paradise. Jeb also worked as the Athletic Trainer for the Women’s Roller Derby team. What is a unique aspect of Athletic Training in your state? Orthopedic Outreach and Residencies are shaping employment for Athletic Trainers in Colorado. What is a big challenge for Athletic Trainers in Colorado? CO is a great AT state A long history of AT and a little bit of everything Secondary University Professional sports Olympic Center We have a strong residency program I feel like our ratio of ATs in ortho clinics is greater than most states Colorado was only recently granted licensure for ATs Maintaining and protecting the licensure is a big part of how we spend our resources. If you had to pick another state to live and work in which one would it be and why? Go back to Big Sky country, where I am from. You're recruiting ATs to work in Colorado…what is your sales pitch? Colorado is a destination state. Great for the AT that loves the outdoors. We have a lot of opportunities to grow. Contact Us: Jeremy - SportsMedicineBroadcast.com Jeb Davis- coatapresident@gmail.com
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    32 mins
  • AT in California – Ky Kugler
    Apr 2 2025
    What is your AT Story? Lived in Las Cruces, New Mexico and was a high school student and was seen by the head AT throughout high school George Westbrook became a mentor to me I became a biology premed student and then hit a dead end. Certified in 1980 Have had a great 45-year career Worked at D1, D2 and D3 levels Worked in high school and with the Dallas Cowboys One of the unique things about California is the diversity. So many different settings Started working in a faculty clinic at New Mexico State and finished at Cal State Fullerton 4500 AT in CA I only represent 3000 of those because they are the certified ones What is a unique aspect of Athletic Training in your state? We initiated our first licensure in 1986, but it got vetoed by the governor's office That has happened about 5 times since then. We have our first title protection regulation on the books right now. “You can not say you are an ATC without actually being one.” Our next step is to have all ATs registered and have licensure. We currently have almost no enforcement other than working with the leadership and showing them the law. But there is no penalty at this point. We field 4-5 “poser” emails per month to weed out the uncertified ATs in the secondary setting. At about 55% of ATs in secondary school. Diversity - The state is huge Ureka at the tip of Cali vs the AT in LA are very different. We are committed to DEI efforts Public school and private school Some schools have 3-5 ATs on staff, but down the road the public school has 1 per campus. Many of our ATs work in industrial (Amazon…) and outreach to the high school. You're recruiting ATs to work in California…what is your sales pitch? There are a lot of opportunities. The jobs being created are properly vetted and often include overtime. The community of ATs here is amazing. The weather is second to none. Ky Kugler - California ATA - ca-at.org
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    35 mins