Be it at the varsity, club or intramural level, you've likely been either a spectator at or a competitor in a Tufts athletics event.
But for every competitive team, there exists another team equally dedicated and working tirelessly behind the scenes, ensuring the health and well- being of every Jumbo athlete: the staff of the Tufts training room.
"We're definitely behind the scenes and we like to stay there," sports medicine director Mark Doughtie said. "We're doing what we're doing to help athletes get well as quickly as we can."
But while the training staff may prefer to remain in the shadow of those competing on the field, on the track or in the water, the unit is one of the most important factors in the success of an athletics program.
"They're absolutely critical to any team," said women's soccer coach Martha Whiting, whose team has battled numerous injuries this fall. "Just knowing they're always there at every practice and game is a really nice safety net."
Located in the basement of the Cousens Gym complex, the training room is a busy place. Four full-time staff - Doughtie and fellow certified trainers Janet Silva, Pat Cordeiro and Anita Chase - are on hand to deal strictly with competitive athletes. Part-timer Nick Mitropoulos, a physical therapist who splits time between Tufts and his New England Medical Center clinic, and his assistant, former Jumbo Matt Penney, help both competitive athletes and the general student body and faculty, who are referred from Health Services.
Boston University athletic training student Caitlyn Roy is also on hand, while John Richmond, Chief of Orthopedics at New England Baptist Hospital, holds clinics twice a week as team physician for athletes.
"There's someone who has expertise in everything our players have needed," Whiting said. "If a player goes down, it's very comforting knowing there's a trainer there that can step up right away."
From a small staff of four full and four part timers, Tufts certainly receives substantial coverage. The staff provided treatment and evaluation for 10,299 cases last year, a figure that excludes routine icing and taping. Each trainer oversees health and conditioning for at least six teams, traveling on the road with sports such as football, lacrosse, soccer, basketball and both field and ice hockey. The trainers still interact closely with those sports that don't receive road coverage as well, acting as liaisons between athletes and coaches.
"For example, I'm liaison for the men's swimming team," Doughtie said. "Nine out of ten times I'll cover those home swim meets, but [as with many other sports] we don't have the luxury of sending someone to their away meets."
Each year, the trainers use approximately 150 miles of assorted tape and thousands of pounds of ice in treatment. Preseason this year saw teams consume 800 pounds of ice per day, leaving the training room's two 400-pound ice machines drained every afternoon. But treatment methods extend well beyond a few bags of frozen water.
Procedures offered include strength and conditioning, electrical muscle stimulation, ultrasound, phonophoresis (applying medications such as cortisone through the skin using ultrasound), ionotophoresis (driving medication using electricity), whirlpools, hotpacks, proprioceptive training (balance exercises) and even some limited therapeutic massage.
All this is designed to sustain an athlete's long-term well-being, not just immediate health.
"We understand athletes want to play and compete, but their health is number one," Doughtie said. "Some athletes can only see tomorrow. We sometimes need to be their eyes down the road."
The long run includes coordinating with Lunder Fitness Center director Mike Pimentel to work on more substantial strength and conditioning exercises during the later stages of an athlete's injury rehabilitation.
"Throughout my soccer career I've had so many injuries, [the trainers have] kept me on the field for the most part," senior men's soccer captain Scott Conroy said. "Every sport has a lot to do with luck with the injuries you get. If you have a good training staff, then your team will be better off."
With roughly 100 years of combined experience between them, the trainers have seen their fair share of bad luck, both with the type and number of injuries seen year to year. Doughtie is a firm believer in cycles of injuries, but the staff must be prepared for anything.
"Some years you're blessed with very few injuries. I'm convinced, being around as long as I have, that things work in cycles," Doughtie said. "Some years you're pelted with knee injuries. The next it's ankle or shoulder injuries. I can't find rhyme or reason for it; I guess it's just bad luck."
But luck aside, athletes would not be where they are, were if not for the efforts of sports medicine and therapy experts.
"The trainers are everything to the teams," Conroy said. "No one wants to get injured, but it's nice to know that if you do, you have these people to take care of you."
Doughtie, however, would prefer to keep his team out of the limelight and let the athletes do the talking through their performances in their respective sports.
"My philosophy is that if the kids are only coming in to say hello, we're doing our job," he said. "We let the coaches be out there in the forefront. We just like helping athletes get back out there playing as quickly as we can."
