Majors at the University of Connecticut

Athletic Training

If you enjoy working within the physical fitness field or working out and helping others do so as well, then athletic training might be the major for you. The fitness area is expanding and as such offers an increasing number of career opportunities. The Athletic Training program at the University of Connecticut prepares students to become certified athletic trainers by the NATA and thus allows them to work at schools, with professional sports teams, at sports medicine clinics, or colleges and universities. Athletic trainers help their clients recover from injuries and thereby allow them to return to training and competition. Athletic trainers also assist athletes and recreational enthusiasts with health problems. As a student majoring in athletic training, one learns to provide and create rehabilitation programs for athletes who have been injured and need reconditioning.

Academic Department

• UConn's Department of Kinesiology

Nature of Work

Athletic trainers essentially evaluate injuries sustained by athletes and provide immediate care for those injuries. They also prepare athletes for games or practices by knowing how to brace, tape, wrap, and bandage an athlete’s troubled or weak spots. An athletic trainer may work closely with sports teams to prevent and to treat injuries for members of the team and to facilitate the return of the athletes to an activity. Furthermore, athletic trainers attend to all the needs of their athletes and clients and as such, part of their job may be to make sure all the necessary equipment and gear is available to the athlete. Finally, athletic trainers help design work out regiments for players on an individual basis to ensure that each player maintains proper conditioning for his/her respective sport.

Sample Job Titles

Potential Employers

The main employers of athletic trainers are high school athletic programs, college and university athletic programs, and sports medicine and rehabilitation clinics. Professional sports teams also require an athletic trainer on staff, as do some corporate health programs, clinical and industrial health care programs, and health clubs. Athletic training curriculum programs also staff athletic trainers.

Useful Skills

The most important skills of a successful athletic trainer include interpersonal and communication skills. Athletic trainers work with all types of personalities and must be able to create individualized treatment plans. Other useful skills include thoroughness and organization. The ability to motivate people to work toward physical fitness goals is another vital skill.

Getting Experience

At the University of Connecticut, applicants are required to complete 100 hours of observations/experience under the supervision of a certified athletic trainer in a facility that specializes in sport injuries and rehabilitation. This is an ideal way to gain experience in the athletic training field. However, job shadowing is another way that students interested in athletic training can learn about the opportunities in this field (the Department of Career Services has more information on the availability of this opportunity).

Employment Opportunities

There is a broad range of employment possibilities for an athletic trainer, but the most common career within the field of athletic training is working for high schools. Professional sports teams hire athletic trainers as well. Depending on the diversification of one’s interests, he/she can go on to a career in sales of athletic training equipment or perhaps teaching athletic training students at a college or university.

Internet Links