It is 2:45 p.m. on a Friday. The basement is bustling. Techno music blasts from the stereo. SportsCenter plays on the brand-new flatscreen TV. Ankles are furiously taped. Kids talk about their plans for the weekend while heating their backs or icing their knees. This is just a typical day in the athletic trainers’ office.
But for many people who go down there, the trainer’s office is more than just a place to assess an injury. It is a place to congregate, socialize and relax in preparation for practice.
Head athletic trainer Alex Jzyk said that the environment after school can be fast-paced but does not get too far out of hand.
“I kind of like the controlled chaos we get right after school,” said Jzyk. “I love the kids coming in here real quick, got to get ready. The whirlwind environment.”
Junior Sophie Lev plays on the girls varsity soccer team and calls herself a regular in the trainers’ room.
“It gets to be chaos sometimes when Alex and [trainer] Kelsey [Steube] are running around,” said Lev. “I remember during fall season, when we were doing soccer and there were like a thousand people going up to them asking, ‘Will you tape my ankle? Will you tape my ankle?’ That was kind of crazy because people are running around, but as I think now, it is midseason, and it is definitely organized chaos most of the time. It is never too out of control.”
Jzyk sees value in establishing a good environment in the trainers’ office.
“I want it to be as loose and as fun as possible,” said Jzyk. “Seeing the athletic training room that I walked into here on my first day, it was two completely different places. You talk to alumni, you talk to coaches and Mr. Rittenberg even, the way the athletic training room was when I walked in here was – I hate to use the word prison or dungeon – but it really was. Kids were afraid to come down here.”
Jzyk emphasizes that music really sets the tone in the trainers’ room.
Sophomore Obi Obiora, who plays on the boys varsity basketball team, agreed with Jzyk on this.
“It is a really chill spot. I go down and see who is there,” said Obiora. “People are always going there to chill and talk, and music is always playing.”
Obiora also thinks that the trainers help create a welcoming atmosphere.
“Alex always tends to the newly injured people first. He doesn’t want them to be scared or worried.”
Lev also thinks that the environment is welcoming to those who haven’t been there before.
“It’s always fun, there is always music blasting and there are tons of kids in there. Alex and Kelsey both make it a very fun atmosphere to be around. I remember when I was a freshman going in and thinking you should be scared because it’s like all of these upperclassmen hanging out in there, but it is a very welcoming atmosphere.”
Jzyk wants the room to mimic that of a college trainer’s office. The trainers’ room raised around $1,000 in quarters over the last year and a half by selling candy to purchase a television. Jzyk believes the TV is also important to setting the room’s tone.
“The first thing I did my first day was play music. The other trainer didn’t have any music playing. When there is no music playing, there is nothing playing in the background, there is this eerie kind of quietness; it’s kind of awkward. It is uncomfortable,” he said. “I mean, any athletic training office you walk into in a college setting has a radio and has a TV. That is one thing that we fundraised for, that I think puts this high school athletic training room even closer to college status.”
But one of the biggest elements that sets the tone is Jzyk himself, according to Lev, Obiora, senior Joseph Meyers and junior Chris Suazo. According to them, Jzyk sets a tone of positivity and fun and taps into his love for the job.
“I do something I love every single day. I watch sports, and I hang out with kids. And I get to hang out outside. It is a pretty awesome job for someone who is in their 20s,” said Jzyk. “Being around kids and watching sports is awesome, and being able to help them with their sports and their careers and their athletic accomplishments, it is awesome. I mean, I love it here. It is a really fun job.”
Max Friedman can be contacted at [email protected].
