Dr. Shawn Eagle

And I was drawn to athletic trainers and my experiences with them were always very, very good.

I liked the idea of how many hats you have to wear when you're an athletic trainer.

You're, you know, you're the extension of the sports medicine physician a lot of times, but you also play the role of like amateur bartender talking about general whatever with people who need to talk about things.

And, you know, I remember some of those conversations and,

the secret sauce to being an athletic trainer that separates them from other health science professions is the work ethic and the love for sport.

Uh, any good athletic trainer is a grind.

And I, um,

I believe when I'm the best version of myself, I'll grind as hard as anyone else.

And so I was attracted to that in athletic trainers.

And that helps me kind of push when I'm tired.

Yeah.

You know, the kids aren't sleeping and whatever to get up and go do the thing that I need to do to push the agenda forward.

Yeah, I think I agree with you.

I think the best athletic trainers also have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder.

It's no secret that athletic trainers are the bottom of the rung of healthcare professions, no matter who you talk to and about when.

And that gives you a little bit of grit and resilience because you know how much impact you can have.

And, you know, I try to spread awareness, especially in our modern understanding of concussion.

Athletic trainers are kind of perfectly trained to manage concussion in the modern understanding.

You know, early activity, monitoring symptoms and changes from before injury.

Nobody knows an athlete perfectly.