Our Students

The following feature article appeared in the Grand Valley Lanthorn:

Three Grand Valley seniors balancing school, sports and athletic training

Pat Garrett
Grand Valley Lanthorn

Kerri Jonas, Jennifer Spindler and Teresa Stuck

When you're in college, you either have a ton of free time on your hands, or very little. 

Many times you might have time for a part time job, maybe working 20 hours a week. If you're an athlete, free time is cut in half and a job is almost out of the question.

What if you're a college student taking around 15 credits, participating in a varsity sport that asks for 25 hours a week, and working between 20-45 hours a week and not getting paid? 

That leaves little time for anything; you might have to remind yourself to breath it gets so busy.

Among the student athletic trainers here at Grand Valley State University, there are three seniors who are pulling off the feat of balancing school, sport and athletic training, and being successful at it.

Jennifer Spindler, Kerri Jonas and Teresa Stuck have committed themselves to what they love to do in a way that not many people could handle.

In the athletic training program, at minimum, they have to come in an hour before their sports assignment (which is assigned each semester) and stay an hour after; many times they are asked to stay longer.

All three ladies agreed that time management has become the most important factor with their lives. Always doing something while on duty, getting homework done while training is not an option. An average day for them is around 10-15 hours long, not including time to study.

Spindler, a member of the track and field team, is a fifth-year senior who is currently assigned to working with the football team. This fall she will be graduating, but coming back in the winter for graduate school to finish off her eligibility. For the 2003-04 school year she hopes to attend graduate school at the University of Georgia. 

As the football season starts to come to a close, practices are a little shorter, meaning Spindler might be able to practice with the team twice a week if she.s lucky.

"For most of the semester I've been practicing about 99.9 percent on my own when we had long practices," she said.

The hours she puts in are now down to 40-45 a week.

Spindler, as a jumper and thrower, will attempt to help her team win its fourth indoor and outdoor GLIAC championship in a row.

Jonas, a member of the softball team, is a fifth-year senior who was currently assigned to the rehabilitation room. 

Come April, she will be graduating and moving on to a graduate school that she has yet to decide on. She would like to specialize in physical therapy or maybe stay at the college level in athletic training.

Currently the softball team does not practice as a team during preseason, so many of the workouts are light and on their own. 

That leaves plenty of time to put in her 20 hours in for the rehab room. Once spring break rolls around her sports assignment stops and she can concentrate on softball.

As the infield leader at shortstop, Jonas will attempt to help her team win the GLIAC title, which they just missed last year, and try to get back to where they were last year, finishing as national runner-up.

Stuck, a member of the ladies basketball team, is a fourth year senior who is also with the rehabilitation room and will be graduating in April. From there she has a goal of someday working as a trainer at the professional level.

As the basketball season is just about to get underway, her busy schedule is even busier. Putting in 20 hours with rehab and then another 20-30 with basketball can make things rough as we approach finals week.

As a guard on the basketball team, her and her teammates will try to improve on last season.s record with their new coach.

"Winning the GLIAC is ultimately our goal, setting it at anything else wouldn't be right," Stuck said.

Being a trainer on a team has its conveniences. It's good to be able to help out their teammates in certain situations, but they also have to be careful as to not end up in awkward situations such as people approaching them when they are looking for favors instead of going to their assigned trainer. 

It also has its benefits in an emergency situation. 

"I was on the field when a girl got hit in the eye by a softball so I took care of her," Jonas said.

Maybe the biggest factor in all of this is the understanding they receive from their coaches and head trainer. Communication is key here. 

"Todd (Jager, head athletic trainer) is very supportive and willing to work with you, but your coach has to be willing to work with you too," Stuck said. 

The coaches are usually understanding and work around things once they realize that the athletic training is an integral part of the student.s academics

So what is it that gets these three athletes/trainers through each day? Spindler summed it up best. 

"It's the love for both of them," she said. "I couldn't imagine my life without track, I couldn't imagine my life without athletic training."