By Michael Ferraresi
GCU News Bureau
As GCU’s athletic teams gain more national attention, the University’s sports medicine program could also grow in popularity.
With jobs in athletic training and physical therapy in high demand, GCU hopes to recruit more potential students into its athletic training bachelor’s degree program.
During the week of June 4, GCU athletic trainers will host their first-ever workshop for high school juniors and seniors interested in learning more about everything from basic anatomy to athletic functional movement screening. The program exposes students to osteopathic evaluation, introducing them to the body’s “kinetic chain” and how it impacts mobility.
Geordie Hackett, GCU’s head athletic trainer, said the camp’s focus is largely on assessing functional movement and lower extremity anatomy. He added that training facilities at the Student Recreation Center are comparable with some NCAA Division I programs.
Hackett’s team of several trainers handles everyone from 6-foot-plus men’s basketball players to women's dance team members, including post-surgical rehabilitation.
“We’re here to prevent them from doing something they shouldn’t,” Hackett said. “My job is to look out for the best interest of the athletes.”
Hackett, who has worked at GCU for several years, emphasized the University’s dedication in serving patients – in this case, athletes – in the light of Christ. He said GCU focuses on the compassion behind athletic training, in addition to the sophisticated data collection and performance evaluations that help training staff tailor fitness programs to individual athletes.
“I feel like my calling, my gift, is taking care of others,” Hackett said. “I have a healing touch.”
Mark Wireman, assistant dean for GCU’s College of Arts and Sciences, said he expects nearly 100 new athletic training students to enter the program this fall. However, only about 30 of those students could be selected for the required clinical work in the field by their second year.
This last school year marked the first time GCU had to turn down students for clinical work.
“It’s very competitive,” Wireman said. "When the high schoolers come in, they have to be focused right away."
Wireman said June’s Athletic Training Camp also could appeal to students who might be interested in taking pre-medicine, pre-physical therapy, nursing or physician’s assistant tracks of study at GCU.
The GCU Athletic Training Camp event is open to high school students June 4-7 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Registration is $75.
Sessions will focus on key joints such as the ankle and knee. The camp also will includes a trip to the on-campus cadaver lab to introduce students to a more detailed look at the human body.
Students also will learn how to evaluate and treat common athletic injuries.
For more information, go to: www.gcu.edu/atep.
Contact Michael Ferraresi at 639.7030 or [email protected].
