Student-athletes with an interest and focus on becoming athletic trainers gathered at Susquehannock High School on Tuesday, Oct. 31.

The York County Alliance for Learning (YCAL) held a school event for student-athletes interested in becoming future athletic trainers. YCAL is a nonprofit organization that works with schools to provide career education and work-based experiences for students. 

Matthew Amberman, who is the College and Career Coordinator at Susquehannock, saw the event as a way to help figure out if they wanted to go into that career or others like it. 

“Career explorations, like the one here on Oct. 31, give students perspective on what they may or may not like as a profession,” Amberman said. 

 The event gave students the opportunity to be able to meet with other athletic trainers and learn the different aspects, responsibilities and roles.

Many students saw it as a great opportunity and hands-on experience, according to senior YCAL student ambassador Krish Patel.

“I gained insight into what the field of athletic training is like and how expansive it is throughout the industry,” Patel said. 

The event showed the many different ways that can lead people to their passion. There were six different stations with trainers and multiple people from OSS Health who came in and taught about the different aspects of athletic training. Each station was unique with its different experiences, one being speaking with a trainer and working on teamwork skills. 

Patel realized how athletic trainers have to have a quick reaction time in order to respond to the injured athlete.

 “How athletic trainers have to react fast and in one of the stations students got their arms wrapped as if they were to get hurt,” Patel said. 

Senior Emma Jordan, who also is interested in this career, found the event beneficial.

“It was a great opportunity to meet with many athletic trainers and learn about their job,” Jordan said. “Learning about the different aspects of the job helped me gain a lot of insight into the career and what roles and responsibilities.”