Page 16 - Priorities #55 2013-March/April

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A SLAM
A strong sports department has long been a tradition at the Priory, turning out hundreds of capable and well-rounded athletes over the years who have gone on to play for schools like Yale, and earn titles such as team captain (Leslie Barkmann, class of 2009); Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year (Reggie Willhite, class of 2007); and
1st Team All American Volleyball (Cassie Perret, class of 2001).
But the student athletes at Priory don’t only learn the rules and strategies of their sports, they learn how to prevent and treat their own injuries in Priory’s unique Sports Medicine Program. And, on March 13, the students took that education to the next level—at the 1st Annual Northern California High Schools Sports Medicine Seminar, held at the Oracle Arena in Oakland.
The regional event was organized by Priory’s own ath-
letic trainer, Korinn Myers, who was selected for the position
by the National Honor Society of Sports Medicine, of which
she is chapter chair. The purpose of the event was to offer a
platform for hundreds of high school students to learn more
about the field of sports medicine. There were 12 lab stations,
run by 20 local college students, for an expected 400 high
school students to rotate through. Each lab station taught a
different sports medicine technique like stretching and foam
rolling, balance exercises, free-throwing, and how to test
an athlete for a concussion. There were also talks given by keynote speakers like shoulder specialist Charles Preston, MD, and concussion specialist Anthony Saglim- beni, MD. As an extra bonus, a ticket to the event came with a ticket to the War- riors vs. Pistons game that night. Tickets for the whole event ranged from $20-$45.
“As an athletic trainer and an educator, I felt extremely honored to be se- lected to organize such a wonderful event,” said Myers at press time, a month before the event. “I hope that this high school seminar is a great success and that I can continue to offer it to all northern California students for years to come.” The event has been traditionally held, for the last five years, in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. This was the first time it was held in Northern California.
Myers believes that, while Sports Medicine is typically not taught until col- lege, it’s a tremendous asset for students at Priory to learn about this subject in high school. She says that it not only opens their minds to new career opportu- nities in the sports field, but it also teaches them to better understand the work- ings of their own bodies. “We’re teaching students how to be independent and take care of themselves,” she said. “They learn what’s going on in their bod- ies, and how to heal their own injuries. They become better athletes for it. Sports medicine is not something that most high schools offer, but it’s starting to be- come more popular. Our program gives the kids the opportunity to see what it’s about [before college], and see if it’s something they want to pursue further.”
When Myers is not diagnosing, treating, or rehabilitating the injuries of Priory athletes on the field, she’s teaching a much-lauded sports medicine class that school
DUNK
Priory’s Athletic Trainer Korinn Myers organizes
the 1st Annual Northern California High Schools Sports Medicine
Seminar (which includes a ticket to the Warriors game).
by Karen Macklin
Lukas Sarnow as Aramis, Darbus Oldham