When athletes walk into the training room at the College and Career Academy at Rome High School, they get greeted by two familiar smiling faces. Chad Wilson and Sarah Waters, Rome High School's athletic trainers, provided by Atrium Health Floyd, are eager and willing to help athletes warm up, cool down, rehab, or just talk about ways to get better.
For Wilson, being at Rome High is only natural, as his path to becoming an athletic trainer started at Rome High during his senior year.
“When I was in high school, I pitched here. And the second to last game of my senior year, I ended up hurting my elbow. I needed Tommy John surgery. That kind of exposed me more to the health and the injury side of things,” he says. “I love history, so I wanted to be a coach and a history teacher. But once I found out this side of athletics, I realized they don't fire you for wins and losses on the athletic trainer side. I worked it in college, just kind of fell in love with it there because sports has always been a huge passion of mine.”
Being around athletes and around sports is also a key to why Waters loves being an athletic trainer.
“I've been around sports my whole life. I never had one of those crazy injuries that a lot of people who end up being athletic trainers say they had. Just being around the sport, being around athletes, and everything, I just always loved it,” she says. “I knew I wanted to work in healthcare. I wanted to be able to take care of people, but also be in sports. So athletic training is just those two things put together, which is the perfect path for me.”
For Waters, working at Rome High School offers her fun every day, as she enjoys being around the athletes.
“When I'm at the high school, I feel like all these kids are like my own little siblings that I'm taking care of. It's fun because you don't always know what you're going to expect. Being around sports, being around the highs but also the lows,” she says. “It’s rewarding being able to take care of the kids and see them from freshman through senior year at the high school. I get to see how they grow and come back from injuries and excel in their sport. Just being a part of their lives is really special to me.”
While he’s been an athletic trainer for 18 years, Wilson originally didn’t think he would end up at his alma mater.
“Working at Rome High was always a dream of mine. Honestly, I didn't ever think that it would happen because when I first graduated, they had a really good guy here. So I thought he would just be there forever,” he says. “I went to some other small schools, but to be able to come back to my alma mater, it takes that passion to another level. It's not just the kids that I want to see do well and succeed, but it's also having a hand in building the programs and helping them achieve success.”
One of those successes happened close to a decade ago when Rome High School won its first state football title. Wilson was on the sidelines cheering and celebrating with the team, coaches, and more as Coach John Reid held up the state championship trophy in the Georgia Dome.
“My prayer career-wise was that I just wanted to be a part of a state championship team. It didn't matter what sport. For me to be able to do that here at the school that I went to was amazing,” he says. “I am as excited as any of the coaches or kids when we do well. You'll see me on Fridays. I'm running up and down the sidelines. I get excited about it. If I ever lose that passion, I know it's time for me to do something else. As long as I still get that joy and find that sort of excitement, I'm going to keep doing it.”
While Waters hasn’t been part of a state championship run at Rome High yet, she says being able to help the athletes and work with them on a daily basis is fulfilling.
“That's why I do athletic training honestly and that's what I think most of us would tell you is it just means so much to us to be able to know that we played a small part for the athletes, knowing that they came in and trusted us to take care of them,” she says. “Then being able to see them out there whether it's scoring a goal, making a game-winning shot, or a touchdown, or whatever it is. Knowing that we had that impact in just a small part of their journey is the best feeling. That's honestly why I am an athletic trainer.”
Wilson echoes those thoughts as well. He loves being a part of a state title-winning program, but he relishes the ability to work with student athletes.
“The kids are ultimately the reason why we do what we do. It’s tough to see an athlete who has suffered a devastating injury and breaks down in tears, thinking they will never be able to do anything again. Then seeing them a few months later be able to get back onto the field or the court and compete at a high level is great,” he says. “For them to have success and to kind of see their progression and the phases that they go through, I think that's the best part.”
Both mention the job definitely keeps them on their toes and ready because they have no clue what injuries might happen.
“I would say when I see someone go down and I see exactly what happened, it's all running through my head like what it could be. I get out there, and a lot of times, thankfully, it's not as bad as that,” Waters says. “It's not something crazy, but we always think, worst case scenario, which is kind of how we're trained.”
But when the worst-case scenario does happen, the technology today is vastly different from several years ago, allowing the trainers to help athletes come back from injuries that at one time would have been considered career-ending.
“A long time ago, they would say a running back might have blown his knee out, and they might never get to play again. But now, through technology and different surgeries and innovations through the therapy side of things, we can actually get that athlete back,” Wilson says. “To see an athlete go from the lowest of the lows and then to come back and go through the highest of the highs is really, really cool.”
As both trainers talk about their jobs, they break into smiles several times. Their body language and their demeanor show they truly love what they are doing.
“Coaches get to see what we do on a daily basis, but parents or the community don’t typically see that. We're with these kids every single day doing rehab, doing treatment, staying after workouts or after practices, and taking care of the kids,” Wilson says. “That’s what we want everyone to know is that we’re working with these athletes a lot and we want to help them succeed.”
And if those tough injuries happen, coaches, athletes and parents can rest assured the two trainers will do everything they can to help the athletes.