What's Driving You?

Well, it is that time of year once again. The time of the year where there are not enough hours in the day, you drag yourself out of the house before the sun comes up in the morning and you drag yourself home after the sun has gone down in the evenings. Let’s not even get talk about the hours you put in on game days!! What gets you through the day? What makes you go that extra mile when something goes across your desk and your first thought is “that’s not my job – why would I waste my time on that?” What makes this profession so important to you that you give up time with your families, your schedule is dictated by coaches last minute practices and games and you are a walking zombie on the weekends?


That question is asked a lot by athletic trainers this time of year – I hope that if that question does come across your mind, your number one answer is that you truly care for the profession of athletic training and you really enjoy taking care of the kids. I will be honest with you – I have that thought a few times in any given school year. I look at some of the athletic trainers that I consider mentors and wonder how in the world they can possibly still be doing this after 20+ years at the same school. Then I realize one thing : they truly care for the kids they are working with. They have past athletes come in and introduce them to their spouses and children because they had such an impact on their lives when they were in high school. They tear up when they hear about accomplishments of former athletes or student athletic trainers because that is truly why they go to work each day – to make an impact on a young person’s life and to be blessed by the results of their hard work.


So what drives you? What gets you out of bed in the morning? When the days get long and the “stuff” keeps piling up on your desk, just remember that you are part of a unique profession. Our jobs do not rest on the win and loss columns. Our jobs do not involve whistles and watching film. We may be one of the only people on a campus that an athlete trusts when something is wrong with them. We may be one of the only people in that athletes life that they can share their problems with. Cherish the profession you have chosen and try to positively impact as many people as you can each and every day you walk into that door, no matter what setting you are in.

I hope each of you has a wonderful week -
DT