NEW YORK, N.Y. - Pace University Assistant Athletic Trainer Phil Ryder was featured in Team Ahmad's October Newsletter, produced by renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Christopher S. Ahmad. Ryder took part in a round table discussion with other athletic trainers, including New York Yankees Head Athletic Trainer Steve Donohue, discussing experiences in the athletic training world.

The following discussion has been reproduced from Team Ahmad's Newsletter:
 

Athletic Trainer Round Table Discussion

In our last newsletter, we briefly touched on what athletic trainers should have in their kits. This month, we've gathered elite athletic trainers for a Round Table Discussion about experiences, how they take care of their athletes, and the best advice a mentor has ever given them. Team Ahmad's Athletic Trainer, Frank Alexander, lead the panel of experts which included: Todd Hirsch, MS, ATC from Governor Livingston (NJ) High School, Phil Ryder, MPH, ATC from Pace (NY) University, and New York Yankees Head Athletic Trainer Steve Donohue, ATC.
 
Frank (FA): What made you want to become an Athletic Trainer (AT)?

Phil Ryder (PR): I was looking for a number of things when choosing my profession. I knew I wanted to be involved with sports, the medical field, and not have to wear a suit and sit behind a desk for 40 hours a week!
 
Todd Hirsch (TH): Like many others, I was exposed to the profession by being injured quite a bit in high school. While I never really thought of entering this type of career at that time, things changed for me in college. A course in human physiology really peaked my interest. When I was visiting the Athletic Training room during my observation hours for a Care and Prevention course, I fell in love with Athletic Training.
 
Steve Donohue (SD): In high school I loved sports. In our sophomore year, our guidance counselors started having us do projects to try and determine what field of study we wanted to pursue in college. I realized I would never be a professional athlete but was very interested in how teams took care of their players and got them back on the field when they got hurt. That led me to volunteering at the physical therapy department at my local hospital. From there, I wrote a letter to the Jets' Head Athletic Trainer, Jeff Snedeker, who invited me to visit him at the Jets' training camp. I continued to visit him and eventually I had a summer job interning with the Jets' ATs. I guess that's the long version of saying I wanted to become an AT to help players stay healthy through prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of their injuries.
 
FA: What do you think is an AT's most important tool?
 
SD: I think the most important tool an AT has is their communication skills. The importance of communication cannot be overstated – between you and your athlete, as well as with your team doctor, coaches, administrators, in the school settings the parents of your athletes, is imperative. Being able to communicate and help everyone understand the "What's" and "Why's" of what we do can go a long way in getting better compliance from athletes and assistance from their parents. In our setting, we are all over the country and work with the medical staffs from other teams on a daily basis so we work with their doctors, ATs, and other specialists for our needs while traveling. The same goes for visiting teams when they come to New York – they use our staff so communication is of the utmost importance.
 
PR: Personality, being able to build a strong working relationship with the people you work with is the biggest thing; whether it is the athletes, coaches, or support staff. A great quote I like to reference in regards to building that relationship is: "If you don't let your athletes get to know you, they will not like you; if they don't like you then they will not trust you."
 
TH: Their brain. Being able to think critically and apply knowledge properly to each situation as it presents is so important. Being able to adjust on the fly based on what you see happening in front of you is the key to success.
 
FA: Steve, 162 games is a long season, and that doesn't include Spring Training or the post-season. How do you keep your guys healthy throughout the season?

SD: We play 162 games during the championship season and another 30 in Spring Training. If everything works right, we can play another 20 or so in the post season – so that's a total of roughly 212 games. That is a lot of baseball. The professional season is a marathon for sure, not a sprint. We work at making sure we do everything possible to help players recover and get adequate rest. We look at nutrition, sleep, hydration, workload and anything else to help our players recover from the daily grind of playing. We have a strength and conditioning staff that work at keeping our players in peak condition. Not only do we play every day, our players are doing this for years. Some of our players are in their late 30's or 40 years old, so rest and recovery are key.

FA: Phil, you get to work with your athletes in both the AT setting as well as the strength and conditioning setting. How does that allow you to take the care of your athletes to the next level?
 
PR: My work as a strength and conditioning coach helps me in the prevention of athletic injuries. As an AT I get to see what common injuries are occurring on a team and develop a conditioning program to reduce the incident rates of these injuries. It is important when designing a strength and conditioning program that performance enhancement is not the only goal. By correcting muscle imbalances and recruiting stabilizing muscles, it will help to keep athletes on the field and performing their best.
 
FA: Todd, you've mentored a great number of students that have gone into the AT field. What characteristics do these students have that can help them succeed in Athletic Training?
 
TH: So much has changed in both AT education and the students that pursue it. I give the same advice to every student: "Work harder than everyone else." Those that are willing to do so are the ones that succeed.
 
FA: What is the best advice a mentor gave you?
 
TH: I don't know if there is one specific piece of advice, however what I did get from multiple mentors was work ethic. I was taught to do the job and do it well. It won't always be easy, but it still needs to get done. If you're unhappy with the way things are, do something to change it.
 
PR: "Use and trust your network." I have had the benefit of being able to work with many great ATs, coaches, strength coaches, orthopedists, and other doctors. Being able to ask them for advice, recommendations, and reaching out to them to get second opinions is critical for our work. This helps ensure the best treatment for the athlete but also helps in your own personal growth and development.
 
SD: Long time Yankees Head Athletic Trainer Gene Monahan used to say "You have 2 ears and only one mouth – listen twice as much as you speak." We have to listen to our athletes. We learn a lot from listening to our players – such as medical history or history of a certain injury. Yogi used to say "It was impossible to get a conversation going, everyone was talking too much." Just listen.
 
To find out more about Athletic Trainers visit the National Athletic Trainers' Association website and the NATA's public outreach site. If you're in the office and want to find out more about ATs and what they can do, just ask Team Ahmad's athletic training expert, Frank!