On Sep. 13, I got the chance to interview Gloucester High School Athletic Trainer Brittany Croft to get an insight of what a game day is like in her shoes. Since working for GHS for the last five years, she has gained lots of experience and has been able to positively impact many of the student athletes.
“On a typical game day, after I complete my teaching duties, I spend the 4th block getting sports medicine equipment ready. This includes getting coolers filled and put out on the field, and making sure that my large medical kit and sling pack medical kit are properly stocked with any medical supplies I might need,” stated Croft.
She continued to explain her responsibilities throughout the interview. Not only does she participate in game day activities, she also helps the athletes after school assisting them with doing taping, rehab, and treatment with any athletes that may need it during pre-game warm-ups. After she is done helping Gloucester athletes she will go and help the visiting team with any taping or treatment they may need.
Croft is a certified and licensed athletic trainer; she received her education from Virginia Tech which is where she got her bachelor’s degree in nutrition and exercise, and got her master’s degree in athletic training at the University of Lynchburg.
I also asked her what part of set up is the most important and what takes the longest versus what takes the less amount of time, to which she said, “I think the most important thing for me to do is make sure that my medical kits are adequately stocked and that I have everything I need with me on the field.”
She also added that restocking her medical kits does not typically take much of her time, however, she did add that, “Filling water coolers and putting them on the field takes way longer than you’d think.”
Since there are many different sports at GHS I decided to ask which ones she focuses on the most.
“In any season, the focus is going to depend on the amount of contact in the sport because typically if there’s more contact there’s a higher chance of injury,” Croft stated. “With fall sports this would be the ranking of focus: 1. football 2. field hockey 3. volleyball and cross country 4. golf.”
Croft continues to work at GHS and the student athletes greatly appreciate her.
