When Senior Sidney Brown went down with ankle pain during the Lady Lions sectional game against Madison, Salem High School athletic trainer Mallory Myers was the first person on the court. Brown saw Myers all year for an ankle injury due to multiple partially torn ligaments in her ankle. She knew exactly what was going on when she saw Brown drop.
Myers started rehab with Brown to get her playing as soon as the original injury happened. Brown said that Myers did the best ankle tape compared to all the trainers out there.
“Mallory is the best athletic trainer around. I could not imagine having anyone else at Salem,” Brown said.
You can talk to any athlete at SHS and they will all tell you the same: Mallory Myers is the best.
March is National Athletic Training Month and Salem Schools is thankful that Myers has been the athletic trainer at Salem for five years. She went to school at the University of Indianapolis. Her degree is Bachelors of Science in Athletic Training and she took courses in nutrition, exercise physiology and psychology. She is also the health teacher at Salem Middle School.
Myers decided to be an athletic trainer her senior year of high school. Originally she wanted to be a dentist but after taking an athletic training class, she changed her mind. Myers came to Salem right after graduating from college; however, while in college she had the opportunity to work with athletes from all over.
“I always knew I wanted to do something in the medical field and I love sports, so this job is the best of both worlds,” Myers said.
Myers sees a lot of injuries as the seasons go on. She has to remain calm even when the injury could prevent the athlete from playing the game they love. The injury Myers has seen most often this year though is shoulder dislocations. However the most common injury she sees is ankle/foot injuries which can range from sprain to fracture. She has also seen at least one ACL tear a year since she has been here.
While Myers loves her job, she said it can be a little tough. Most of what she does is behind the scenes so people do not know what all she does. Myers goes to all home events to watch the games and to be there in case anyone gets hurt.
Brown has spent a lot of time with Myers over her high school years. Brown has seen Myers for a multitude of injuries all ranging in seriousness. She said that without Myers her time in sports would have been more limited. Brown participates in volleyball, basketball and track. Being a three-sport athlete she has become very close to Myers and is very thankful for the way Myers always pushed athletes to get back to their sport.
“Mallory’s impact is not only visible in the athletes on the court/field, but also when the athletes go out into the world,” Brown.
Senior Justin Stephenson plays football, basketball, and track and said that Myers is a fun person to be around. He has seen Myers for a broken growth plate and a tear in his patellar tendon. Meyers had him do rehab so he could be healthy again for football season. “Mallory is amazing and does so much for our schools and athletic programs,” Stephenson said.
Myers’ favorite part of the job is working with all the athletes. She said that the athletes make the job fun and rewarding. Myers is a competitive person and when working in athletics she gets to compete every day. “When I have a rough injury, rehab or general medical issue I look at it like competition and how am I going to solve and get the athlete back to their sport as quickly and safely as possible.”
See the SLNN interview with Myers here: https://youtu.be/swT7xPkpA0Y
