Kinesiology Paths: Athletic Training – A Legacy Story

Stephanie Smart, BS Kinesiology and Health Promotion (2016), MS Athletic Training (2018)

Being back at Tech is the dream I never knew I had. Louisiana born but raised in North Carolina – my family continued to loyally support Tech. My dad graduated with his bachelors and masters from Tech. He was a manager for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team under Coach Scotty Robertson. Coach Robertson is the reason my dad switched from engineering to teaching and coaching high school basketball. With the impact from many Louisiana Tech legendary greats such as Coach Leon Barmore, Coach Tommy Joe Eagles, Coach Robertson, and more, my dad succeeded during his times at Cedar Creek, Dubach, Quitman, East Ascension, and lastly in Highlands. Fun fact: Mrs. Boyd attended one of my dad’s summer basketball camps as a camper herself!

I always knew I would end up at Tech for college. I also always knew I would continue the family business of working in basketball. But I had no idea in what capacity it would be. Initially, I declared an undecided major because I struggled to pronounce and spell “kinesiology”. But I took a couple of KINES courses and absolutely fell in love with the faculty, the other KINES students, and the course content. I knew that it was the major I needed to be in. I became vice president of PEK (Phi Epsilon Kappa- the Kinesiology honor fraternity), active with ESPE (now KINES- professional student organization for Kinesiology), and developed relationships that would grow into great professional working relationships as well as lifelong friendships.

After I graduated from Tech, I earned my Masters in Athletic Training from Marshall University in West Virginia. I was part of the inaugural class of 5 students. I was the only one with a bachelors degree – the others were part of Marshall’s 3+2 program as most AT programs are now. Having the Kinesiology degree gave me a little bit of an upper hand especially in the rehab and exercise prescription areas.

I graduated in 2018, passed my athletic trainers board of certification (BOC) exam, got my AT licensure in the state of Louisiana and did a 10 month internship at Louisiana College (now Louisiana Christian University). An internship route isn’t a popular direction to take due to the full-time responsibilities and hours and extremely low pay but it was right for me. After that I was hired at Piedmont University in Georgia where I covered volleyball, women’s basketball, men and women’s golf, and men and women’s tennis. Piedmont is where I grew the most under the guidance of some phenomenal athletic trainers. I obtained certifications in blood flow restriction, grastons technique (scraping), and became an NASM corrective exercise specialist. I also taught a couple of undergraduate exercise science courses.

In my opinion, I believe athletic training is one of the greatest medical professions there is because of the fact that we are one of the few medical professionals to see an injury all the way through – from the moment it occurs on the court with the initial eval and diagnosis, to the acute care, treatments, and referrals necessary, to the possible lengthy rehabilitation, to the return-to-play, and last but not least the maintenance and preventative measures taken to ensure no further injury occurs. Athletic trainers aren’t just in professional, college, and secondary setting athletics. There are AT’s in performing arts, military, industrial settings, operating rooms, hospitals and clinics, PT clinics, and fitness gyms. Obviously, my passion for sports kept me in the college setting but it’s nice knowing there are so many options to choose from.

With the help from my mentor, former KINES adjunct faculty member and Lady Techsters basketball athletic trainer, Mandy Miller, I got the job here at Tech with the Lady Techsters and am temporarily covering the volleyball team. In the spring, I will be teaching KINES 405- Sports Med & First Aid. I look forward to all that is to come!

My world has truly come full circle and a lot of credit go to the amazing faculty of the kinesiology department.

Mrs. Boyd, Mrs. Smiley Reeves, Dr. Szymanski, Mrs. Szymanski, and Dr. Blazo – thank you all for being incredible educators and influencers.