The moment the whistle blows, student trainer June Tau (‘26) sprints onto the field to assist the fallen athlete, mind and heart racing. She nervously says a silent prayer to herself as she runs through all of the worst-case scenarios of what could be happening every time a football player gets hit or injured. But before reaching the player, Tau has already calmed herself, thinking fast about all of the ways she can help. In that instant, Tau is reminded of everything it means to be a student trainer: acting quickly, staying calm and finding peace of mind in the critical moments where her actions make a difference.
Tau has been participating as an unofficial trainer for the Paly football team since her sophomore year. Tau’s interest in medical training began when she was a freshman, as she frequently found herself going into the trainer’s office for minor injuries and rehab assistance for recurring ankle sprains. As a basketball player, Tau was no stranger to the training room — and like many athletes — she was used to being on the table.
Misconceptions of sports medicine often highlight the idea of a trainer who passes out ice packs and applies tape to the athletes. Although these actions are a part of successful sports medicine, the job involves far more nuance than may originally meet the eye. Sports medicine is a branch of healthcare that focuses on preventing, diagnosing, treating and rehabilitating injuries related to sports and physical activity.
“I found the machines and everything in there interesting and I started to go more often,” Tau said. “I got to know Mrs. E, the athletic trainer, so my sophomore year I started working as a student trainer specifically for the football team.”
As a student trainer for the Paly football team, Tau works alongside Paly’s full-time athletic trainer, Justine Iongi — known to many students as Mrs. E — responding to any injuries or health issues the athletes might come across.
“During games, my main responsibility is to do the more complex tape jobs such as ankle, knee, etc.,” Tau said. “I’m also in charge of giving players LMNT electrolytes to help prevent cramps and dehydration. I follow Mrs. E [Iongi] up and down the field and when someone is injured, I run onto the field to assist.”
However, Tau isn’t just essential to the training staff during games; she also helps to build healthy training habits that keep the athletes’ bodies strong.
“Injury prevention mainly happens within the trainer room, I can tape or help athletes with strengthening exercises to prevent injuries,” Tau said.
Many athletes place repetitive strain on their joints because of the demands of their sport. For these athletes, applying supportive tape before practices can provide stability to these areas. This may help to reduce stress and minimize the risk of injury during practices, games and tournaments.
Tau not only helps prevent injuries, but she also helps recovering athletes speed up the process of returning to their sports.
“When an athlete is recovering, I also help with different rehab phases that they would need to go through to return to their sports,” Tau said.
Tau is starting to excel individually as a trainer and has even earned the full confidence of the Paly athletic department.
“Recently I was asked to work one of the away football games by myself without Mrs. E. [Iongi],” Tau said. “They don’t usually ask student trainers to do this but the coaches, athletic directors and admin trusted me to do this.”
Tau relied on her experience, which helped her overcome fears of her first solo assignment.
“I was scared at first but then I was able to trust what I have learned these past few years of me doing this and the game went well,” Tau said. “This was my first time taking the lead but I knew that I had been preparing for this.”
In addition to her work with the Paly football team, Tau spends her time outside of school refining her skills. In the spring, when football season is over, she works for a youth rugby team in the area as their athletic trainer.
“This past season one of the players injured his hand,” Tau said. “The process of recovery was long due to the extent of the injury but this athlete was determined to play. So we worked together to find a solution for him to play safely while also adhering to his rehab plan.”
Despite the experience and skills Tau has learned over the past few years, being a student trainer doesn’t come without its challenges — and she often finds herself in situations where her abilities are doubted.
“The most challenging part of the job is when working with athletes the same age as me or younger, parents and coaches, they often underestimate my abilities or my judgement,” Tau said. “I am young and still learning so sometimes an athlete may not trust what I say or how I might tape.”
But according to Tau, the experiences that she has gained throughout her time being a student trainer greatly outweigh the negative aspects of the job.
“The friendships and connections I have built are similar to those that I would create if being on a team,” Tau said. “I get to experience things not everyone in high school gets to experience because of this opportunity.”
Tau noted that for athletic trainers, success often means ensuring safety for everyone on the field. For trainers, any day that ends without a major injury or incident is viewed as a positive outcome.
“I’m happy if we walk away with no serious injuries or incidents,” Tau said. “That is considered a win for athletic trainers.”
In terms of her long-term goals, Tau is deeply influenced by her experiences as a Paly student-trainer.
“I plan to major in kinesiology in college,” Tau said. “I either want to become a sports medicine doctor or work as an athletic trainer at a high level.”
Tau’s aspirations reflect the importance of the work she does for Paly athletes. Her help with these athletes is essential to their health while playing sports. According to a six-year-long study done by the National Library of Medicine, athletes endured a 25% reduction in injuries when they had access to athletic trainers.
Additionally, according to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, 44% of high schools in California do not have access to athletic trainers, making them hard to come by.
Nearly every professional sports team employs a veritable army of sports medicine professionals. Each NFL game requires, according to EMS news, at least 30 trained sports professionals to be on site, with the main priority of aiding injured athletes. Furthermore, NFL estimates suggest that each team has four athletic trainers, two orthopedic surgeons, two primary care physicians and a neurotrauma consultant.
In many teams’ rosters, there are physicians, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists and athletic trainers. Whatever the role, these practitioners are responsible for helping keep the players on the field and healthy — whether that means diagnosing injuries, helping with recovery, or preventing future injuries. For example, if a player is experiencing constant cramping, the trainer will help them stretch properly and make sure they are recovering correctly. For football in particular, trainers play a big role in doing concussion evaluations by checking symptoms and determining whether an athlete is safe to return to play.
Sports medicine practitioners are always in demand as they will increase substantially in the next 10 years.
While many only see the surface level aspects of sports medicine, the work and years of practice that goes into being an athletic trainer is prominent and often goes unnoticed. At Paly, there are many pathways in which students can get a taste of the sports medicine world. One of these pathways includes extending sports medicine beyond the field and into the classroom with Dr. Stacey Kofman’s dual enrollment sports medicine course.
For students who may want to educate themselves on the subject more before they start practicing it, the Paly sports medicine class is a helpful course for a variety of subjects regarding sports medicine.
The Paly sports med course is run by Dr. Stacey Kofman. From a very young age, Kofman has had a passion for sports medicine.
“I have been working in sports medicine since I was an adolescent,” Kofman said. “I started volunteering at a PT [physical therapy] clinic when I was in high school and was a student athletic trainer at my high school.”
After high school, Kofman went to The University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, where she studied Physical Education and minored in sports medicine. Later on, Kofman went back to school, where she received her Master’s in Exercise Science and her terminal degree.
Kofman began working at Paly as an athletic trainer in 1993, where she began teaching a sports medicine class in 2000 and P.E. in 2004.
In the sports medicine class at Paly, students learn skills such as basic taping and wrapping skills and basic skills on goniometric measurements.
“The way I have structured the class is we cover the upper extremity in the first semester and lower extremity in the second semester and learn taping and wrapping techniques for various issues,” Kofman said.
Students learn and practice these goals through many projects completed throughout the duration of the course.
“We have a final research project which is a paper and presentation,” Kofman said. “As for labs, they are taping and wrapping labs and measuring labs. So the taping and wrapping labs cover the tape/wrap for the particular joint or injury, while the measurement labs utilize goniometers to measure joint range of motion.”
Kofman’s goal is to inform students on the complexities of the body and give them a clear comprehension of different techniques used in sports medicine.
“[I hope that students take away] an understanding of how complex the body actually is and how intertwined it is,” Kofman said. “And, an appreciation of their injuries and issues and maybe a better understanding of how and why taping and wrapping will or won’t work in certain situations.”
For some, taking Paly’s sports medicine class isn’t about a future in medicine. Instead, the class can offer an incredibly interesting view into the world of injury prevention, educating even the least experienced students in how they can better take care of themselves. For Paly senior Dainel Rainey, the class provides just that.
“Honestly, I’m probably not going to go into sports medicine in the future,” Rainey said. “However, the hands-on experience you get in the class is very interesting and fun. It’s definitely an excellent class for anyone interested in sports medicine.”
Unlike many other classes, sports medicine lets students practice their skills in a wide variety of practice scenarios. In these mock labs, students further explore the knowledge they’d previously gained in the classroom, connecting fun and learning.
“I haven’t been in [sports medicine] for too long,” Rainey said. “But one thing was doing the hand tapings and then trying to throw a ball or frisbee.”
For others, the sports medicine class has been a successful venture for students who have taken it. In the case of Paly junior and athlete, Justin Fung, who is currently enrolled in sports med, the class gives helpful insight on previous injuries he’s experienced.
“I get injured pretty frequently while playing football, which makes sports med fun because I get to learn a little bit more about the background of my injuries,” Fung said.
According to Fung, the course is additionally serving as an opportunity to delve deeper into a topic that he may be interested in pursuing in the future.
“Since being in sports med, I’ve discovered that I may want to pursue kinesiology or sports medicine in college,” Fung said. “The class has taught me a lot of useful information that I may want to expand on as an area of interest for college or as a career.”
The interactive experiences and exposure to different techniques and situations that are associated with sports medicine allow for students to get a good understanding of what the many career opportunities in the field may look like.
“Students can go off and become fitness instructors, physical therapists, occupational therapists, sports medicine physicians, exercise physiologists, coaches, etc.,” Kofman said.
Kofman has also seen several students go on to make significant achievements in said line of work. “I have a former student who went on to get his PhD in laboratory research and is working in industry,” Kofman said. “And I have another student who went to Alabama undergrad and graduated the athletic training program and is now at Auburn doing her graduate work in athletic training.”
The sports medicine class both builds knowledge and provides a sense of clarity for those who might one day want to step into medical or training careers.
“Take a class, shadow at a clinic, intern if it’s still something you like,” Kofman said. “Internships can turn into jobs.”
Injuries can still happen, no matter the sport at Paly. But when they do, Paly’s top notch athletic training team and educated student trainers are there to help, providing both immediate relief and aid on the way to long term recovery.
Whether students are interested in sports or general medicine, were recently injured or are just hoping to implement injury prevention into their regimen, Paly’s sports medicine course and trainer’s office can provide numerous opportunities for learning, healing and growth. At Paly, there are many different paths for education in sports medicine and athletic training categories, so any student can have the opportunity to pursue interests in these specified fields.
And finally, the presence of athletic trainers like Iongi and student trainers like Tau at Paly makes it possible for athletes to recover faster, develop smarter habits for the future and get more educated on all of the opportunities sports medicine has to offer.
