Hey Everybody! CJ Strawser here, the certified athletic trainer at Forest Hills Central (FHC). This is my second year in the athletic training profession, my first at FHC, and despite some of the challenges that we’ve faced as a community and in high school athletics due to the pandemic, I couldn’t be more thankful for the role I get to play with my athletes and my patient population. I graduated from Forest Hills Central and now I have the opportunity to serve the same community that gave so much to me during my time in high school.
Let me tell you a little bit about what I do as an athletic trainer.
My patient population is entirely high school athletes. I spend time with high school students most afternoons from 1:45 pm until practices or games are done for the night. I have a unique position as a medical professional in that I get to interact with my patients not only when they’re ailing, but when they’re healthy as well. I am on site for all of our home athletic competitions and am responsible for the care of any athlete that is competing on school grounds. My work includes all of the preparation and injury prevention measures that keep our student athlete population healthy and performing optimally, as well as day to day rehabilitation for injuries sustained in practices and competitions.
For my high school athletes, I am a constant presence in their lives. I’m there on the days when they don’t feel like practicing because they didn’t perform like they wanted to. I’m there when they are having struggles at home with their family. I’m there when they have a breakthrough moment on the field, like when they win an important conference matchup playing against friends from another school. I get to be a part of the community, something that means a lot to me specifically given that I’ve been able to come back to my roots.
In addition to my role at school, I get to work closely with our amazing staff at The Center for Physical Rehabilitation which includes physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and personal trainers. This allows me to provide my athletes with the best care they can get. I’m able to get athletes into our clinics at the drop of a hat. If they get injured on a Friday night, I can even get them in on Saturday morning to be seen by a therapist and receive treatment.
As an athletic trainer, I also have the opportunity to work in our clinics around the Grand Rapids area. Being able to work with physical therapists opens up a relationship that crosses borders of professional practice and I’ve found it to be incredibly helpful. When I work in our clinics, I get to learn new rehab techniques, I get to ask questions to see how someone in another discipline would handle one of my tricky cases at school, and I get to be more connected with the people that I work with (a hugely valuable and underrated tool when it comes to coordinating patient care).
On the flip side, Ben Eggleston, one of our physical therapists at our Cascade location, comes to FHC on a weekly or biweekly basis to help and provide insight with some of my athletes as well as build relationships in the community that he seeks to serve.
In my first year with The Center for Physical Rehabilitation, I’ve been hugely impressed with the opportunities that I have as an athletic trainer and can’t wait to continue building my impact as time goes on!