PROFESSIONAL WORK IN SPORTS & HEALTH
On this page are all my experiences, education, and projects related to the field of sports and health. My experiences range from youth, to high school and college athletes as well as the general population.
They involve work in general population physical health, sports psychology and athlete mental health, exercise performance/health, and coaching.
Career Aspirations
In August of 2025, I will beging my first year studies at Creighton University in their Doctorate of Physical Therapy. Specifically, I would like to specialize in sports therapy. Using my combination of physical therapy studies along with performance and training knowledge, I would like to one day work with athletes at the college or professional level. Potentially at a facility they use to train at in their off seasons.
There are two aspects I place a high priority on: sports technology and sport psychology. I thinktilizing sports technology, such as catapult, VALD, etc.., to support athletes rehabilitation and return to play is what can ultimately take physical performance and health to the next level. Sports psychology is an important aspect to performance, but also in healing. It's an area in my educational background I have placed a heavy emphasis on and would like to continue doing so.
Experience Working with Athletes
My experience working with athletes has ranged from elementary to high school and college. In these opportunities, I have interned as a college strength coach, volunteered as a high school weights coach, coached high school volleyball, worked with youth athletes, and interned with a college athletic trainer.
It is my intention to continue working with athletes in more of a sports and performance and rehabilitation role as I continue on through school and my professional life.
K-State Strength & Conditioning and
Sport Science Internship
During my internship with the K-State Football Strength and Conditioning/Sports Sciences departments from August 2023 to December 2023, I had the privilege of working under the guidance of Trumain Carroll, the Director of Strength & Conditioning, and Lance Yancy, the Director of Sports Sciences. Occasionally, I also collaborated with Scott Trausch, the Director of Nutrition. This invaluable experience coincided with the team's successful season, culminating in their victory as Poptart Bowl Champions.
My responsibilities included assisting with daily operations such as setting up for lift sessions, managing post-lift recovery, and organizing pre-practice warm-ups. I was also involved in data collection for athlete performance metrics, operating Catapult GPS technology, and familiarizing myself with Perch sports technology during velocity-based training sessions. We regularly collaborated with the nutrition, athletic training, and football coaching staff to ensure we were prioritizing what was best for the individual athlete between all departments observations and their Catapult and Perch data.
Through this internship, I discovered a passion for sports science. This experience has profoundly influenced my career aspirations, as I now aim to integrate sports technology into my future career in physical therapy and sports performance. I firmly believe that sports technology is the future of sports performance, injury prevention, and rehabilitation, and I am excited to utilize these advancements to enhance athlete care and optimize performance. K-States inter-department teamwork was like none other I had experienced. It taught me how to communicate with other professionals better, as well as what success can look like on an individual and group level when the necessary people are working together towards a common goal.
This was one of my favorite experiences both from an educational and enjoyable point of view. I found some fantastic mentors and gained invaluable skills to take with me in my professional and personal life.
Why is Sports Psychology and Mental Health Important?
Having the ability to include "athlete" as a primary part of my identity for many years, I can positively say that I have encountered many different variables in the world of athletics: personalities of athletes, support staffs, coaching styles and tactics, pressures, emotions, nutrition, recovery, injuries, friends and family, and the list goes on and on. There was one factor, however, that was grossly under talked about in all my years of athletics. That being mental health. Through personal and professional experiences, as well as my schooling- I became aware of just how influential mental health plays on the individual, their physical health, performance, and even their environment.
Sports psychologists are a necessary tool for athletes and coaches of all levels to utilize as a way of improving performance, but more importantly to maintain or improve their mental and physical well-being. These two things may seem unrelated but they are actually two sides of the same coin. On the performance side of sports psychology, the aspect of using psychology to refine and improve performance is very exciting. Student-athletes are more likely to experience burnout, increased injury risk, and suffer from a severe mental health crisis without proper mental health advocation and intervention.
*Listed below are flyers I created for my college class over various hot topics in sports psychology that an athlete would be able to briefly look over and either 1.) connect with the information and learn something new or 2.) find resources they can use to get help.
Athletic Training Internship - Newman University
3100 McCormick St, Wichita, KS 67213
August 2018 - December 2018
250 Supervised Hours
Experience
As a senior in high school, I was apart of an internship class where I went to a site 3 days a week for 4 hours in the morning. My internship site was with Cam Clark, the head athletic trainer, at Newman University. Throughout the semester working with Cam, I got to experience what working with college athletics and athletes was like, as well as how rehabilitative programs are individualized to the individual and their sport. There were various treatment and diagnostic tools I was able to observe and utilize: MRI and x-ray scans, cupping, e-stim, and scraping to name a few.
Hard Skills Gained
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Ultrasound therapy
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Various taping and ice wrapping
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Assist in athletes rehabilitation programs and treatment plans
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Concussion testing
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Vital procurement
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Familiarized with Lachman, Talar Tilt, and Load & Shift Test