By: Karen M. Carty, Assistant AD for Media, Marketing and Promotions
GRAMBLING, La. – The National Athletic Trainers' Association has designated March as National Athletic Trainers' Month in an effort to spread awareness about the important work of athletic trainers.
In a collegiate setting, athletic trainers provide invaluable health and wellness services to the athletes they care for and they are an integral part of their student-athletes' physical, emotional and mental well-being.
To celebrate the athletic trainers here at Grambling State University, we took a few minutes to chat with them about their athletic training experiences. Today, we spoke to the newest member of the GSU Sports Medicine Staff,
Arielle Beauvoir.
Beauvoir is in her first year with the Grambling State University sports medicine department. She started at GSU in August 2017.
Karen M. Carty: What sports do you cover at Grambling?
Arielle Beauvoir: I am primarily in charge of volleyball, men's basketball, and softball. However, I provide treatment for all our student-athletes.
KC: What other professional stops did you make before getting to Grambling?
AB: Previously, I was an athletic trainer at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. I have also had the opportunities to work the Disney Full and Half Marathons and The Special Olympics Summer World Games.
KC: Why did you choose the field of athletic training?
AB: I chose this field after suffering an ankle injury that no longer allowed me to participate in sports.
KC: What's your favorite part of being an athletic trainer?
AB: My favorite part of being an athletic trainer is being able to see my student-athletes excel on the field or court. This is especially true after an injury I assisted them in treating and rehabbing so that they can return to play.
KC: What is one thing you wish people knew about athletic training?
AB: I wish people understood all of the different facets of athletic training. We are there emotionally, physically, and mentally for our athletes.
KC: What was one of your most interesting experiences as an athletic trainer?
AB: One of my most interesting experiences was when I started my beach volleyball season in Florida. The whole environment is completely different from indoor volleyball, plus I was able to enjoy being on the beach while working.
KC: What's one thing in athletic training you don't like to deal with and why?
AB: I'm not a huge fan of massaging out scar tissue. I don't like feeling all of the bumps and "crunchies" in the tissue.
KC: How much of your athletic training skills do you use in your non-work life?
AB: I feel like I am constantly using my skills in my non-work life. You tell someone you're an athletic trainer and they start saying, "I hurt my knee when I was 5 and now it does this and this. What should I do?"
KC: Is there anything you want to add about the athletic training life?
AB: Our athletes make all the blood, sweat, and time worth it. When we have to withhold them from competition, it hurts us just as much as it hurts them.
About NATA
The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) is the professional membership association for certified athletic trainers and others who support the athletic training profession. Founded in 1950, the NATA has grown to more than 43,000 members worldwide today. The majority of certified athletic trainers choose to be members of NATA to support their profession and to receive a broad array of membership benefits.
