The Sports Medicine team is
OUR TEAM
Integrity First
The students in the program, from the first years to our stats team, are the finest in our community. Team members understand that they can always count on each other and trust their teammates to care for them too. The team lives by the creeds of Primum Non-Nocere, Integrity First, Tradition of Excellence, and Compassionate Service. The team, this little-found family of learners, gives us the students the confidence that they can take academic and emotional risks in caring for their patients even with the support of their coaches. This program is the emotional core of our school and our culture of compassion. We take responsibility for our school climate and culture.
Student Athletic Trainers,
sacrifice their personal time and energy
for the good of the team.
Never asking or expecting the
spotlight and adoration of the crowd
just the appreciation of
their team and the building
of a healthier world.
Natalie Muñoz
2022-23 Head Student Trainer
“”
Natalie Muñoz
2022-23 Head Student Trainer
“I love to laugh. My favorite memories are when I’m doubled over in laughter, my lungs aching because I cannot breathe. Usually, the cause of my laughter is a joke told by a friend, or a funny meme sent in a group chat. I love to laugh so much that I repeat the same jokes over and over in hopes of reinvigorating the feeling of hearing it for the first time. But as much as I love to laugh, there’s one thing I love more; helping others. I started the Sports Medicine program in my sophomore year with the hopes of acquiring a plethora of medical knowledge that would prepare me for college. I had no idea that the program would achieve this goal as well as point me in a new direction entirely. I have now reframed my entire mentality surrounding medicine. I went from a hungry, competitive shark aspiring to be the most highly paid, highly prestigious physician possible to someone who values equity and justice above all else. This program is not about the wraps, it’s not about the ability to read an EKG. It’s about the community, the perspective.
Sports Medicine provides medically-interested students with the resources to form guiding beliefs and values that most students aren’t introduced to until medical school. On the first day of class, Mr. Navarro begins with this heart-quickening encouragement, “You are the best of the best.”
I did not believe this for one second. My mind filled with fear and my heart filled with guilt. How could I possibly live up to this expectation and who was I to think so highly of myself? But throughout my three years in this program, and as I continue with my role as Head Student Trainer, I find myself repeating this phrase: only Sports Medicine. Only Sports Medicine would spend their lunch breaks checking in on other students. Only Sports Medicine would see a fellow Student Trainer struggling with AP Calculus and offer free tutoring. Only Sports Medicine would make sure everyone gets a Chipotle bowl before a big game. Our community is like none other. We are able to create and foster relationships within our community, both program and school, that are vital to student success. The peer-to-peer dynamic allows for a significant increase in trust and confidence within the student body. We are people who students can come to for advice, anonymity, or admittances. When I am struggling, the first people I reach out to are my peers within the Sports Medicine program. And as I sit here typing this letter, I’m overwhelmed with memories and experiences. My laptop pings with a text from another trainer; they have sent me a video of them matching anatomical structures to an old Barbie. My body swells with laughter, my heart swells with gratitude. “
