A Major Score
It is said that quarterbacks get the glory while the line wins games and that home runs are exciting but pitching wins championships. What is not in doubt is that neither glory nor championships occurs unless athletes are capable of performing at or near their peak. Enter athletic trainers.
These men and women work to keep athletes healthy and performing at maximal levels from high school through elite professional sports.
Admission to Marquette’s athletic training program is among the most competitive on campus, having a 2 percent acceptance rate. The program has a 100 percent certification exam pass rate and 100 percent job placement rate. Before even entering the professional world, though, Marquette students have the opportunity to participate in high-level internships. Program director Chris Geiser helps place students with college and professional sports teams, including the Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks and Green Bay Packers.
“These internships are optional, but they give students the opportunity to learn and network and to have some great experiences for their resumes,” Geiser says. He adds that the internships are highly competitive, much like the athletic training program itself.
When senior Greg Signorelli heard about the internship offerings, he knew he had to take a shot. A peer was interning with the Bucks and relayed to Signorelli that the team was seeking a “qualified, interested” candidate.
“Only an hour after the interview, they called me and told me I had the job,” he says.
Signorelli did a lot of organizational work for the Bucks, including pre-competition preparation and fulfilling special player needs for rehabilitation treatments.
This led to his being able to do hands-on work with the players, helping with exercises and assisting with ultrasound and laser treatments — which led to his desire to become a trainer at the level of professional sports. After working with the Bucks for a year, he set his sights on an internship with the Green Bay Packers.
“I wasn’t sure I stood a chance, but I had to try,” he remembers. “I got a phone interview, and they invited me to spend a day in Green Bay, where I met the training staff and a few of the players. A week later, they called and told me I got the spot.”
Signorelli’s work with the Packers has proven to be even more hands-on than his previous internships.
“We help with rehab exercises and generally prepare the guys for practice,” he says. “During practice, we make sure the players are hydrated and handle injury evaluations and wound care.”
As only the second Marquette student to have an internship with the Packers, Signorelli “networked early on in his academic career, and that ultimately got his resume out of the big pile and into the little pile,” says Geiser. “He’s doing a great job, and he’s also opening the doors a bit wider for the next Marquette student who would like to work with them.”
Senior Connor Leichtle understands how important it is to foster and maintain those professional relationships. He started his internship in April with the Brewers, an organization with a long history of partnering with Marquette’s athletic training program.
“It works well for our students to help them since we’re in such close proximity,” Geiser says. “Once something like this is set in place, it generally continues. Our faculty thought Connor was the best candidate for the position, so we recommended him.”
“Each day I get to run the guys through rehab exercises in the pool and set up and operate equipment like the ultrasound and bone stimulators,” says Leichtle, who says his dream job is to work as an athletic trainer with a major college football team.
Geiser continues to push students to experience as much as they can in as many settings as possible before entering the profession.
“Athletic trainers practice in all kinds of settings,” he says. “These opportunities are among the elite, so if students have career goals that include working in professional sports, these internships make it possible for them to learn, practice and grow.”
