By Nance Ebert, Contributing Writer
Hudson – Anatomy and physiology teacher Michael Nanartowich met with Hudson High School Principal Dr. Brian K. Reagan last spring to discuss the possibility of adding a new course option to students. Athletic Training 101 offers students an overview of what an athletic trainer and someone who is involved with sports medicine encounters on a daily basis. The course had been an idea of Nanartowich’s for a while, but scheduling conflicts did not allow it to be offered until this year.
“This is very much a ‘hands-on’ course in which students learn rehabilitation, functional testing for injury and taping techniques,” Nanartowich said. “The students do both lecture and practical work around the field of athletic training. We have talked about athletic training (AT) as a career and worked on the design of the AT rooms.”
The course outline includes an introduction to athletic training, acute first aid/CPR/AED, injury recognition, evaluation and management, therapeutic modalities, strength and conditioning programs, nutritional programs, field management, labs, lectures, field trips and more.
There are two classes each semester and about 80 students have participated so far. Because it is new, it will constantly be tweaked and re-evaluated to see what works and what does not.
Senior Lauren Eadie, who will attend Penn State in the fall for nursing, interned for Nanartowich and created a survey that will be used to get feedback from the students after completing this course.
“I had taken both anatomy and physiology 1 and 2 with Mr. Nanartowich and he’s a really good teacher,” she said. “I saw that this class was being offered and I was excited. I have been surprised by how ‘hands-on’ the class is. Being able to implement what we have learned has been awesome.”
Noted student Austin Berry: “I am going to Westfield State in the fall and although I have enrolled as ‘undecided’ I will be studying athletic training and this class has definitely prepared me to understand a lot of what is involved.”
Aaron Cornwell, also a senior, is heading to Franklin Pierce University in the fall to study accounting. He confessed that if he had been exposed to this course earlier in high school, he would have decided to go into athletic training as his career.
“I enjoyed learning about the intricacies of our muscle groups and why injuries happen. As an athlete, I learned a lot that I could relate to to use later in life,” he said.
“Many of my students that take anatomy and physiology with me typically enter a career with something having to do with the medical field,” Nanartowich said. “Not always, but the training we offer can definitely help these students in many other facets of their life.”
“This is a passion for me and I am thrilled to bring this to the students,” he continued. “The student interest has been overwhelming…”
