This year the UNO athletic training program was offered a

unique opportunity. High school students from schools in the

Omaha-Metro area took a survey in which they specified what they

wanted to be when they “grow up”. A surprising 5,000 students

stated that they wanted to do something that related to sports medi-

cine or athletic training. 10 students enlisted in the program and

went through 6 different sessions where they were able to get bet-

ter knowledge of the athletic training profession with hands on experiences and inter-

act with current students as well as staff members from the ATEP program.

Each session focused on a different aspect of athletic training and highlighted

the athletic training program here at UNO. Over the course of the semester the Ex-

plorer’s learned about the different settings athletic trainers work in by having guest

speakers from a high school, UNO and clinical setting come and speak with them.

They learned about concussions and how to recognize the signs and symptoms as well

as spine boarding techniques and simple taping. The students that participated

ranged from different age groups and classes and from many different high schools

throughout the Omaha Metro area.

The best part of the program was that not only did they get in-class learning

experiences but they were also able to be more hands on with each other in the mo-

dalities section. The students were able to put each other through whirlpool treat-

ments using the hot and cold whirlpools in the athletic training room. With the help of

three of UNO’s first year graduate students and Sam Wilkins, the students also got to

see what electrical stimulation treatment is capable of when placed on different mus-

cle groups of the forearm. Not only were the students able to participate in these ses-

sions but they were also allowed to observe a game or practice with one of UNO’s Di-

vision I sports teams so they were able to see the concepts they were learning about

used in a clinical sense.

The explorer’s program wrapped up their sessions with a fun

night of jeopardy as well as an opportunity to watch the UNO

women’s basketball team in action at their first home game this

season. The students walked away with better knowledge of the

athletic training profession and a better understanding of what the

ATEP program at UNO has to offer.

Explorer’s Program at UNO

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

North Pole

Event History

2

NSATA

Update

2

National AT

Month

3

UNO High

School AT Day

3

Working for a

Living

4

MATS in the

Community

6

MATS Socials 7

Alumni Corner 8

ATs in Action 9

MATS News W I N T E R N E W S L E T T E R M A T S N E W S

Maverick Athletic Training Students Newsletter

University

of Nebraska

at Omaha

A S T U D E N T O R G A N I Z A -

T I O N D E D I C A T E D T O

A C H I E V E M E N T , C O M M U -

N I T Y , A N D P E R S O N A L

E N R I C H M E N T .

M A T S

By Brandi Boston

P A G E 2 M A T S N E W S

“Holly

Remmenga, a

current first year

graduate student

at UNO… will be

the UNO rep to

the state and the

state rep to the

district.”

Over the last year, I have had the opportunity to be the UNO representative

to the state, as well as the state representative to the district. In October, I was also

elected to be the district student leadership council. From this experience, I have

learned so much about how the state and district athletic training associations are

run. As my time in this position is coming to an end, I am happy to announce Holly

Remmenga, a current first year graduate student at UNO, will be my replacement as

the UNO rep to the state and the state rep to the district. Katie Staiert, a current

junior in the athletic training program at UNL, will be the state student leadership

council president. I am very happy for both of these two ladies, and hope that the

state and district student leadership councils will continue to grow.

The District V Student Leadership Council will be looking for one position to be filled by any mem-

ber within district V. The council is looking for a person to help reform the constitution and help it fit the

current needs of the district student leadership council. This position will be one year long, beginning at the

NATA symposium this summer. For more information or if you know of an athletic training student in dis-

trict V who would like to apply, please contact me at kheckenbach@unomaha.edu.

NSATA News

North Pole Event History

The North Pole Event is an annual event to entertain special needs children during the Christmas season. Each

child is able to talk to Santa, interact with clowns, receive a face painting, play games, watch magic tricks, and eat

lunch. Along with wonderful memories, each child gets a stocking stuffed with toys, candy, and a stuffed animal.

The North Pole Event was first established by the Silverliners.

The Silverliners were formed in 1954 by Carol Montell Harlin, Doris Coughlin Self,

and Claire Ward Westhafer. These three stewardesses met with the owner of the

Eastern Airlines, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker to start the organization. Captain

Rickenbacker named the organization the Silverliners because “his girls were the

silver lining of any dark cloud”. The Omaha chapter would load children from the

Children’s Hospital and the Nebraska School of the Deaf on flights with Santa, an

elf, and two reindeer to travel to “the North Pole”, which was Kansas City, Missouri. It was in 1988 that Eastern

Airlines discontinued their flight from Omaha and ceased operation in 1991. This has not ended the North Pole

Event as it is held in Omaha on the first Monday of December each year.

In 2005, Pinnacle Bank joined forces with the Silverliners to co-sponsor

the North Pole Event. Other contributors are the Scoular Company, the

Shirt Shack, Faith Christian Clowns, Henry Doorly Zoo, John Hoich, the

UNO Athletic Department, State Farm Insurance, and Woodmen of the

World.

“This event is exciting to both the children and sponsors; we learned that

much could be done without a budget, little money but with lots of love

and good will”, Suzi Miller stated.

By Cassie Metzner and Suzi Miller

By Katie Heckenbach

Katie Heckenbach

NSATA Representative

P A G E 3 M A T S N E W S

On a snowy day in December, 20 Omaha-area high school students braved the storm

to attend the 2nd Annual Metro High School Athletic Training Day at UNO. While 33

students originally had registered to attend, the five inches of snow put a kink in

some of the students’ plans. Nonetheless, the day went off without a hitch otherwise.

Students were able to participate in a variety of athletic training topics. One section

was known as Athletic Training in the Lab; students learned and participated in lab

work with the Biodex, Motion Analysis cameras, and the Virtual Reality Simulator

from the UNO Biomechanics lab. They also participated in spineboarding, learned

about common MOI’s and injuries that result, and tried their hands at a variety of re-

habilitation techniques. At the end of the day,

they finished it off with an athletic training relay, which included ice

bag making, wrist taping, knee splinting, crutching, and cooler car-

rying. Every student walked away with at least one door prize, such

as shoulder packs, hockey tickets, gift certificates, and more. Over-

all, despite the snowy weather, the day was quite a success for the

high school students and the athletic training students alike.

UNO Annual High School Athletic Training Day

Athletic Training Month As we turn our calendars to March, many things may come to mind. Springtime, spring break, the

transition to spring sports… but March also means it is time to recognize and celebrate National

Athletic Training Month. NATM was first created in 2001 in order to recognize and publicize the

profession of athletic training. While many organizations and groups create events for NATM,

college and university athletic training education programs often lead the way.

The theme of the 2012 NATM is “Athletic Trainers Save Lives!”. This year, the UNO ath-letic training education program and MATS are celebrating by:

Making PA announcements at the March 2nd and 3rd men’s ice hockey games

Creating an athletic training-themed display for a large display case in the Eppley Administration Building on the UNO campus (on display March 7-31)

Declaring Wednesday, March 14th as “Hug an Athletic Trainer” Day (see our face-book page!)

Selling wristbands to raise funds for MATS

We hope that each of our alumni find a way to recognize NATM this year, whether it is by partici-

pating in the twitter hashtag days (#NATM on March 1, 15, and 29), organizing an event to bring

recognition to our profession, or simply adding a signature to your email about NATM. We must

continue to promote our profession, and our amazing athletic trainers, so we can continue to gain

recognition as a valuable and important healthcare profession.

Find out more information about NATM, and download some PR tools, at the following site:

http://www.nata.org/national-athletic-training-month

By Melanie McGrath

By Katie Heckenback

P A G E 4 M A T S N E W S

Last year the UNO ATEP program graduated 9 graduate students and 5 undergraduate students. For everyone currently in the program, the op-portunity for jobs in athletic training looks promising! Almost everyone who graduated is working in the athletic training field in some capacity.

Kelli has joined the athletic training staff at her alma mater and is enjoying the collegiate setting, covering practices and games in the afternoon and doing reha-bilitation in the mornings. One of the road blocks Kelli is facing is her age. She states that being close in age to the athletes makes it harder to gain their trust with her athletic training skills. However, being close in age is also advanta-geous, as the athletes can relate to her about their lives. Her most memorable athletic training moment so far was working the Class A state football champi-onships when she was with Millard South during her high school rotation.

Graduate Students

Kelli Gutzmann: Midland

University, Fremont, NE

Shaneka Hampton: Coastal

Carolina University,

Myrtle Beach, SC

Andrew & Christine

Gschwind: University of

Illinois & Marist High

School, Chicago, IL Kelli Gutzmann

By Kelsi Huseman

Assistant Athletic Trainer at Midland University

Shaneka Hampton

“Twelve out of fifteen of my players have some form of either chronic and acute injuries or illnesses. It has been “trying” at times to prevent more injuries but a good learning experience as a first-year ATC”, says Shaneka. One of her biggest mountains to climb came after a football player tore his ACL, LCL, lateral meniscus, ruptured his biceps femoris and damaged his posterolateral corner ligament (almost a full knee dislocation). Shaneka was put in charge of his reha-bilitation program from start to finish. He is cur-rently undergoing rehabilitation for running progres-

sion. Her typical day ranges from 8-12 hours per day starting with set-up, re-habs/treatments, documentation/insurance billing and writing/updating rehab programs and then she does pre-practice duties, treatments and taping and cov-ers practice. She really appreciates student help when she gets it! A few things Shaneka is never without in her kit: basic wound care, bio-freeze and Palmer’s cocoa butter!

Women’s Basketball Intern at Coastal Carolina University

Undergraduate

Students

Brooke (Groteluschen)

Hughes: Faith Regional

Health Service, Norfolk,

NE

Shelly White: Lincoln

North Star High School,

Lincoln, NE

Jill Kumrow: Ralston High

School, Ralston, NE

P A G E 5 M A T S N E W S

It wouldn’t be appropriate if we didn’t put Andrew and Christine to-gether. If you didn’t know, Andrew and Christine were married Au-gust 13, 2011 in Des Moines and relocated to Chicago where they are both working as athletic trainers. Christine said her most memorable injury so far was having a basketball player get an elbow to the lip. He felt fine with only a little swelling. Fifteen minutes later he fell to the ground. She sent him to the ER and he had sustained a subdural

hematoma. He spent two days in the ICU. Christine said, “It just goes to show that a hit in the head doesn’t have to be those big hits that we see in football/hockey to be a seri-ous injury.” Andrew is looking forward to traveling with his softball team to California, Florida and New Mexico this spring and is looking to pursue a career in physical therapy within the next few years.

Working For A Living Cont.

Brooke stays busy at Norfolk High preparing and covering practices and games. Her and the other athletic trainer cover all home events and travel to football and most basketball games. Her most memorable experience was spine boarding and riding in an “unexpectedly” bumpy ambulance! The two most important things in her kit are band aids and athletic tape!

Andrew Gschwind & Christine Gschwind

Brooke (Grotelschen) Hughes Faith Regional Health Services High School Outreach at Norfolk

Softball Intern at the University of Illinois & Athletic Trainer at Marist High School

What are some of Shelly’s most memorable moments at UNO? Well, you can start with the fact that she NEVER got thrown in the swim-ex or the 90’s at noon lunch time with Rusty and having dance parties in the tap-ing room! Sounds like the UNO athletic training program was getting Shelly well-prepared for working in the high school setting! She always knew working in a high school would be the most enjoyable for her. She really enjoys the kids and has found that her favorites are the lower level teams because of their desire to play sports because they love it. UNO

also taught her to work independently and allowed her to develop trust in herself and her skills. The most memorable moment at the high school was having to stabilize a football player’s C-spine and wait for EMS to arrive, which seemed like an eternity. She was the only medical professional on-site and said by the time EMS arrived her legs had started to go numb. The player ended up being okay, suffering from a concussion and sprained neck. We wish Shelly luck as she decides what path to follow for graduate school!

Shelly White Assistant Athletic Trainer at Lincoln North Star High School

“It’s out, it’s out!” Ok, I got a little excited, Jill says, talking about one of her most memorable injury experiences. At an away football game one of her players went down and wasn’t really moving. She went out and he said his shoulder hurt. As she was palpating his shoulder it was obvious his shoulder had dislocated. “Luckily, there was an or-thopedic doctor on-site and he was able to reduce it. Looking back I probably should have held my excitement in, but it was my first dislo-cated shoulder!” Jill states. Jill is really enjoying working at the high school setting and said it is a big change from being around college athletes for so long. The high school kids have been fun and a new challenge to her as well. The coach staff has also been great to work with, especially being a first year ATC. UNO helped Jill gain invalu-able hands-on experience, on real-people and to see first-hand how to handle situations.

Jill Kumrow Athletic Trainer at Ralston (NE) High School

P A G E 6 M A T S N E W S

Playful, interactive, and FUN! The members of MATS were

able to help provide these adjectives to young, underprivi-

leged children in the Omaha area. On Sunday, December 4th,

a several MATS members met in West Omaha to load up bro-

ken down boxes and transport them across town to the Scou-

lar Building. Once the boxes were brought inside the ball-

room, the boxes were reconstructed and stacked on top of

one another to build “igloos.” Each “igloo” was a different

station in which the children would enjoy crafts, magic tricks, face

painting, sit with Santa, and open gifts. We also helped stuff stock-

ings for the kids. Each stocking included toys, stuffed animals and

candy. The event was held on December 5th in the morning. That

evening, another group of MATS members invaded the ballroom

and dismantled everything to be stored for next year’s event.

As March begins, we start to hone in on April 13th, the date for the

2012 UNO Relay for Life Event. The theme for the night is “Scare Away

Cancer.” Since the designated night is Friday the 13th, the MATS

team has chosen the name of Team Zombie, which also works well

with the event’s theme. Throughout the year MATS has participated in

several fundraisers. On February 10th, the UNO Relay for Life Com-

mittee held a fundraiser at Maple Woodlanes. We had 10 MATS mem-

bers show up and there was a total of $450 that was raised that night.

We are trying to plan a movie night, another noodles & company night and also something

with Jason's Deli. There is only ONE MONTH before the event and we would love to have

MORE MATS members join our team. If anyone would like to join or donate please go to

www.unorelayforlife.org -- with the team name: Team Zombies.

North Pole Event By Stacy Dahlkoetter

Relay for Life Update By Stacy Dahlkoetter

Relay for Life:

When: April 13-14

Time: 6pm-6am

Where: UNO Sapp

Fieldhouse

Time to be had:

FUN!!!

Clock Tower Challenge By Stacy Dahlkoetter

Every year UNO holds an event called the Clock Tower Challenge. This is a competitive

event in which clubs across campus try to collect the most canned goods for a local food

pantry. This year’s event is going to be held in April, so the MATS members have decided

to hold an Easter Egg Hunt to help collect cans. The Easter Egg Hunt with be on Sunday,

April 1st at 12pm in Elmwood park. The price of admission will be at least 2 cans per

child.

MATS 2010-2011 Team

P A G E 7 M A T S N E W S

In late October we held a MATS social at Vala’s Pumpkin Patch in Gretna. On this day we got together

to enjoy a beautiful, but windy day at the Pumpkin patch. Whoever said pumpkin patches were for

kids, was sadly mistaken. We enjoyed attractions such as the corn maze, glow in the dark putt putt golf,

the haunted house, and even story time with the talking dragon. In addition, we spent some quality

bonding time with the animals in the petting zoo. However, one of the best memories at Vala’s was

attempting to fit four people in the giant rocking chair for a picture. After some trial and error we man-

aged to get situated in and smile for the camera. Going to Vala’s was a great way to relax and enjoy

each other’s company while getting some fresh air.

Bitter sweet. That is how I would have to describe the MATS November 13th outing to Iowa Western Com-

munity College. As we all gathered Sunday morning coffee in hand you could tell it was going to be a fun

day. The fun started in the carpool to the school where we rocked out to music and got semi lost. We finally

made it there and to the correct building then we got to meet the athletic training students at Iowa West-

ern Community College. They were all extremely welcoming and a fun group of individuals. Once we all got

a little smack talk out of the way the games began.

It was a blast having a group of athletic training students get together and instead of watching the game

like normal, be the ones playing. People were diving and sliding and rolling all over that gym floor trying to

keep their team ahead of the other. Even though it was clear there was a slight competitive edge in the air I can-

not think of a single moment when there wasn’t laughter filling the gym. Throughout the course of the match

there were some truly athletic plays which occurred and other plays not so much (My apologies to Keaya Webber

for hitting her in the head on a serve). When the pizza arrived the match was tied one to one. Following our lunch

break the game continued and in the end the Iowa Western athletic training students were victorious. They were

presented with the golden crutch trophy and took their pictures with it before we all joined in. To close out the

day we played a guys versus girls game. You’ll have to ask one of the guys about the score of that game!

Anytime you get a bunch of athletic training students in one place playing a little friendly sports competition you know it is going to be a

good time. We want to thank the Iowa Western athletic training students for having us out there and showing us a fun afternoon. However we

should let them know that next year we will be taking home that golden crutch!

Vala’s Pumkin Patch By Louise Patterson

Sister Program Volleyball Competition By Holly Remmenga

If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball. The words of wisdom that I gave my teach prior to play-

ing some of the exercise science students in dodgeball this past fall. Okay...so maybe I didn't come up

with these exact words, but we did as a program have the opportunity to play a friendly game of dodge-

ball. There were about 6 of us that came to play, and I don't mean to brag but the girls showed up with

their game faces on. We split the teams boys vs. girls and played the best of 3. I don't think the boys were expecting

what was about to be thrown at them. Once they got tired of losing, we re-split the teams. It was athletic training vs.

exercise science. It proved to be a pretty even match. In the end, we played a few more games and just mixed the teams. The night was very fun

and gave us an opportunity to meet some new people. It was good for the athletic training students in particular to be able to relax and remember

that hey there is life beyond clinicals and class!! I really enjoyed myself and would hope in the future that there could be a rematch.

Let’s Play Dodgeball! By Sara Shively

IWCC competitors

1. Brief history of "you"...

Where you are from. Sioux City, IA Year you graduated from UNO 2005 Where you are currently. Sioux Falls, SD

2. How did you become interested in athletic training? I was back home doing physical therapy on my shoulder after a pitching injury between my freshman/sophomore college years. The physical therapist put me in contact with the ATC for the Sioux City Explorers baseball team. Before I knew it I was doing a summer internship with the Explorers and completely fell in love with the profession.

3. What drew you to UNO? After doing research on entry-level Athletic Training Masters programs, UNO seemed to be the most reputable and affordable. 4. What was your favorite memory from UNO as an athletic training student? Pulling an all-nighter to cram for a modalities test with a classmate. I think we called Rusty at like 11:30pm for a concept explanation and he actually answered.

Were there any events that you covered that stick out? Any injuries that stick out? My second year I did my internship with hockey, that was when I got my first taste of knee rehabs from start to finish under the guidance of Rusty.

5. Where are you currently working? Employed through Sanford Health Sports Medicine and outreached to the University of Sioux Falls 6. Please describe a "typical" day as an Athletic Trainer and your primary re sponsibilities. What is your current sport assignment? I typically go into the athletic training room around 1:00pm (morning treat ments are by appointment only) to do treatments and rehabs. Practices usu ally begin around 3:00 then continue through anywhere from 6:00-8:00pm. I currently have women’s basketball, softball, and share men’s/women’s track

7. What has been the most memorable moment in your current position? For my birthday this year, the volleyball team brought me flowers, my favorite Juice Stop drink, and bagel while we boarded the bus for a 7 hour trip north. They made the day so special!

Most challenging moment (i.e. Injuries??)? We have had an epidemic of spondys this year in all sports (men and women) so we have been trying to find the correlation and cause of this issue.

8. What is your favorite part about your job? My athletes have been phenomenal to work with. I feel like I have 150 children. 9. What has been your greatest career accomplishment (s) to date? I just worked my way into an adjunct faculty position as instructor of the Exercise Science Sports Medicine Prac-ticum for the University of Sioux Falls 10. Do you have any pieces of advice for our future Athletic Trainers? Embrace the power of learning. Utilize the intelligence of other professionals. Always have fun at work.

Alumni Corner with Janette Santee

P A G E 8 M A T S N E W S

ATEP Students In Action!

P A G E 9 M A T S N E W S

With the help of Tim Fitzgerald, UNO’s event photographer, we were able to catch some of UNO’s Athletic Trainer’s (ATC’s)

and Athletic Training students (ATS’s) in action. Take a moment to glimpse at the responsibilities of our ATC’s and ATS’s. With

March nipping at our heels, it is important to recognize how truly important ATC’s are to the sports medicine field and the inte-

gral role they play as physician extenders. Remember that March is National Athletic Training Month, so don’t forget to thank

an ATC for everything they do for our athletes!

Left Above: Katie Heckenbach and

Megan Stuhr working at Colorado

College. Above: Stacy Dahlkoetter

making a finger splint with aqua-

plast. Left: Team Physician Dr.

Shinaut sutures a laceration.

Above: Brooke Hughes (ATS), Sam

Wilkins, ATC and Heidi Murphy help

player to sideline. Right: Erin Hicks,

ATC tapes an ankle.

Top Left: Micheal Buresh, and Jake Ulrich

team up against the girls. Top Right:

Cassie Metzner and Sara Shively showing

the boys what girls can do. Bottom: Sara

Shively, Cassie Metzner, and Stacy

Dahlkoetter waiting to throw dodgeballs

at the boys.

Top: Courtney Peart, Jordan Ellis,

Louise Patterson, and Erin Hicks,

ATC help construct igloos for the

North Pole Event. Bottom: Lindsey

Egger, Stacy Dahlkoetter, Cassie

Metzner, and Heidi Murphy smile at

the accomplishments of the day.

National Athletic Training Month

~ March

MAATA Conference

~ March 15th-18th

ATEP Banquet

~ April 21, 2012

Graduation

~ Undergrads: May 5, 2012

~ Grads: May 4,2012

NSATA Conference

~ June 1st-2nd

NATA Conference

In the Bleachers

P A G E 1 0 M A T S N E W S

Words of wisdom—From

The Graduates

“Stay in contact with the "contacts" you have developed over the years. Aside

from having a good resume, I'll say 85% of us in this field have gotten our posi-

tions based on "who you know." Let experience, work and dedication speak for

itself. UNO grooms and produces some of the BEST ATC's around and so long as

you are confident in yourself and strive to be better, your performance will always

standout above others and rise above minimal expectations.”

“Always work hard. You may not get the clinical rotation you desire, you may not

get to work with your favorite people, and you may not get your dream job; you

always control your work ethic and desire! So, desire to be your best and always

work hard to get there.”

“You will always have a million thoughts going thru your head from all the

classes, books, studying, etc. Trust yourself and your gut. And don’t be afraid to

ask for help or a little guidance – that can only make you a better athletic

trainer.”

“Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know.” There is nothing wrong with not knowing

every single thing that may happen to an athlete. Doing research and finding an-

swers to things you do not know can only make you a better athletic trainer

If you have ANY

questions, please feel

free to contact us!

Thank you for reading

MATS Fall Newsletter

Stacy Dahlkoetter

Editor in Chief

sdahlkoetter@unomaha.edu

Cassie Metzner

Newsletter Journalist

cmetzner@unomaha.edu

Katie Heckenbach

Newsletter Journalist

kheckenbach@unomaha.edu

Kelsi Huseman

Newsletter Journalist

khuseman@unomaha.edu

Melanie McGrath

Advisor

mmcgrath@unomaha.edu

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