Jasmyn Keeney, a senior, has been assisting Hamburg Area Trainer, Matt Elston, all of last year into this year. “I’ve always loved sports, and I love to help people. Combining the two just made athletic training perfect for me.”

     When it comes to athletics, there will always be injuries. Keeney reveals that the most common injury found in student athletes are cramps due to lack of water consumption. The worst injuries are torn tendons or head injuries. It’s especially hard to deal with injuries as severe as these because it may destroy an athlete’s career forever. One thing that Keeney has learned from Trainer Matt during all of these injuries is to always remain calm. “You may know the injured athlete and want to freak out, but you have to stay calm to keep the player calm,” Keeney states.

     Keeney helps with all sports in the Hamburg Area District. She does things that range from getting an ice bag or setting up the ice bath to wrapping ankles and cleaning blood. She confesses she “was nervous doing all this new stuff because I didn’t want to mess up, but now I’m pretty confident in most of what I do.”

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     In Keeney’s future, she sees Temple University for college followed by being a sports’ trainer for a professional team. At Temple University, a Division I school in sports, she will get a “two or three in one, meaning I will get my Masters in Athletic Training, and Bachelors in another subject or two, like Kinesiology,” the study of human and nonhuman body movement.”

     With all of the training Jasmyn Keeney has taken with Trainer Matt, she will be well prepared as well as get a great recommendation from him for college applications. Keeney feels that “There aren’t many female athletic trainers in those areas and I believe that being the sport junkie I am, the highest level of a sport will expose me to something different and amazing.”