If you’re a high school athlete, you want a team trainer who can work out that cramp, tape up that ankle and adjust that shoulder — anything to get you back in the game as soon as possible.
But, being a high school athletic trainer goes well beyond the obvious. There are concussions and heat-related issues that can lead to dire consequences for prep athletes, as well as the risk of major infections like MERSA and even cardiac symptoms that often have to be monitored.
The job, at times, can be harrowing.
At Freedom High in Tampa Palms, however, that job is done very well. In fact, it’s done as well, if not better than, at any other high school in the state, according to the Athletic Trainers’ Association of Florida.
On July 17, the ATAF recognized Freedom head certified athletic trainer (ATC) and Tampa Palms resident Ian Graulich as the state’s High School Athletic Trainer of the Year.
“I was very surprised,’’ says Graulich. “I was humbled by that. It was pretty cool.”
Graulich is truly deserving after the busy 2015-16 school year he had. The Washington, D.C., native said in the past year, he had five football players with torn anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) in their knees, four players with concussions and two others who suffered a spine injury and a broken leg. And, that’s just the football team.
“Unfortunately, that probably helped (me win the award),’’ Graulich joked.
One of Graulich’s key attributes which likely contributed to his winning the award is that he also has helped prepare other athletic trainers, many of whom have gone on to become successful themselves. Graulich has had a positive influence on many of those students, who are now “paying it forward,” he says.
“Anyone who has worked with Ian will tell you this is a well-deserved honor,’’ says Laurie, Ian’s wife of 17 years. “He is highly regarded in the New Tampa athletics community. On many occasions, we’ve been out in the neighborhood, and parents will approach us to say how much Ian helped their son or daughter after an injury.”
Ian and Laurie met at the University of Florida in Gainesville, when their college roommates started dating each other. The roommates broke up after only six months; Ian and Laurie have been together the 23 years since.
The love bug isn’t the only thing Graulich caught in Gainesville — he also caught the athletic training bug.
“I was just very interested in a profession that combined athletics, which I love, with healthcare,’’ he says. “And I find working with young athletes more enjoyable than working with older patients.”
Graulich earned his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Exercise & Sports Science from Florida in 1996. In 1998, he earned a Master of Science degree in athletic training from California University of Pennsylvania.
The Graulichs have lived in Tampa Palms since 2007, with 11-year-old daughter Kaitlyn, who attends Liberty Middle School, and 5-year-old Kristen, a Tampa Palms Elementary student.
He has been Freedom’s head athletic trainer since 2011. He also has worked for 10 years for the SMART (Sports Medicine & Athletic Related Trauma) Institute on the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus, where he is one of 15 certified athletic trainers providing daily, on-site care and coverage to thousands of student athletes at 13 high schools in Hillsborough County.
A typical day for Graulich might involve a few hours in the morning at the USF SMART Institute. Once at Freedom, Graulich will typically keep a close eye on football practice, because it has the most players (thus more chances for injuries), but he is responsible for every sport at the school. Many nights, he will work whatever Patriots games are being played.
Practices, he says, are where most of the injuries and, especially, heat-related illnesses here in Florida occur. He cited the recent death of Oklahoma State University basketball player Tyrek Coger, who died after a 40-minute workout on the football stadium stairs in hot weather.
“We face those fears on a daily basis,’’ Graulich said. “You always have that worry. Our most important job is to be there for emergency purposes and worst-case scenarios. We want to keep our athletes from being in the newspaper (for the wrong reasons).”
Graulich was the first full-time certified athletic trainer for Northwood University in West Palm Beach in 1998. And, while he enjoyed his work at the college, Graulich said he has found his niche at both the SMART Institute, which affords him an opportunity to teach and take part in research, and as a high school trainer at Freedom.
It doesn’t get any better, Graulich says, and the athletes he is keeping an eye on at Freedom can probably say the same thing about him.
For more info about the USF SMART Institute, visit health.usf.edu/medicine/orthopaedic/smart/index.htm.
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