Freedom High Athletic Trainer Ian Graulich Named State’s Best

IanTrainer2WEBIf 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.”

IanTrainerWEBGraulich 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.

Did You Blink & Miss The Summer? Local Schools Are Back In Session!

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Incoming sixth-grade students listen to Benito Middle School principal John Sanders offer some words of advice in the school’s cafeteria last month during an introductory camp.

That wailing sound you may have heard echoing across New Tampa on Wednesday morning was likely the sound of local elementary, middle and high school students bemoaning the start of the 2016-17 school year in Hillsborough County.

Already?

Yep, already.

Thanks to state lawmakers responding to the Hillsborough County School District’s request for changes to the school schedule a few years ago, kids went back to school Wednesday, the earliest first day of school in years. And, students in New Tampa were not alone, as 40 of the 67 school districts in Florida returned to school Wednesday as well.

Nearby Pasco County returns to school Monday, August 15.

While summer vacation is one of this country’s great and most treasured traditions — just ask anyone toting a backpack to the bus stop today  — chances are if you blinked this year, you missed it.

But, don’t blame the schools; blame Labor Day. Because so many school districts try to start the school year around the holiday — which is Mon., Sept. 5 this year, — it can interfere with classroom time, with schools having to end the second grading period after winter break.

With Labor Day taken out of the equation and finishing the first two grading periods at a more convenient break in the schedule, it led to starting school earlier.

Now, there is an even break after the first two quarters, in December — as opposed to finishing the second quarter sometime in January — and schools can start fresh with the third quarter when school returns in January (on Tue., Jan. 3, 2017, in Hillsborough).

“Change is always complicated, but the reality is, it’s  nice to have those first two quarters finished when we break at winter break,’’ said Lawton Chiles Elementary principal Teresa Evans. “I can see in secondary school how that is important.”

While the early start may be a shock to the system — in Evans’ case, she said many of her international students who travel back to their countries over the summer had a harder time planning their vacation — it’s not all bad.

In fact, Evans says, she didn’t hear any complaints from students as last year wound down, and she hasn’t heard any moaning about it from the students she talked to this summer.

“By this time, they’re excited,’’ she says, admitting things might be a little different with the younger students at an elementary school, as opposed to say, budding teenagers heading back to middle school. “Everyone I’ve talked to is excited about coming back to school.”

For the 2016-17 school year, the summer will begin right after Memorial Day. And, at the end of the day, students are going to school the same number of days they always have — usually, right around 180 days.

Which solves another problem — in years past, many teachers admit, the 10-12 remaining days after kids come back from Memorial Day are not always purposeful and it’s difficult to keep students focused.

But, even if the students weren’t ready to return, the schools certainly were ready for them. Rooms were being dusted and cleaned last week, floors were mopped and teachers spent the final days of summer in planning meetings, while their students tried to soak in every last second of it before hitting the books again this week.

“We planned for it,’’ Evans said. “I think that’s the real key. It’s not like it hit us in the middle of the summer. The custodial schedule was the hardest thing to do, to get everything clean before school. That was a real priority for us.”

2016-2017 school schedule

Mon., Sept. 5: No school, Labor Day

Fri., Oct. 7: First grading period ends.

Mon., Oct. 10: No school, nonstudent day.

Fri., Nov. 11: No school, Veterans Day.

Mon.-Fri., Nov. 21-25: No school, Thanksgiving/Fall break.

Mon., Nov. 28: Students return from fall break.

Wed., Dec. 16: Second grading period ends.

Mon.-Fri., Dec. 19-30: No school, Winter break.

Tue., Jan. 3, 2017: Students return from Winter break.

Mon., Jan. 16: No school, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Mon., Feb. 20: No school, Presidents Day.

Fri., March 10: Third grading period ends.

Mon.-Fri., Mar. 13-17: No school, Spring break.

Mon., March 20: Students return from Spring break.

Fri., April 14: No school, nonstudent day.

Wed., May 26: Last day of school. Fourth grading period ends.

Students are released one hour early every Monday and, on the last day of school, are released 2œ hours early.

Goddard School Hoping To Open Soon

GoddardThe Goddard School is extending its franchise into Wesley Chapel, with the early childhood education provider hoping to open a new location by the end of the year across Bruce B. Downs Blvd. from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC).

According to local owner Dinesh Patel, the new school could soon be opened, weather permitting. He says the summer rains have slowed down construction of the 10,000-sq.-ft.- learning facility, but he is still pushing the company building it.

“We have broken ground, and it looks like we should be able to open by the end of this year in the last quarter,’’ says Patel, a businessman who lives in Punta Gorda but is planning to relocate his family to Wesley Chapel.

Goddard Systems, Inc. (GSI) is a successful franchisor of The Goddard School, with more than 400 locations in 35 states. It was established in 1986 in Malvern, PA, by AAMCO Transmissions founder Anthony A. Martino. Using its proprietary F.L.EX (Fun Learning Experience) program, a play-based curriculum, the school focuses on early education, from the age of six weeks to six years old.

“One of our friends was involved in it, and we liked the concept,’’ Patel says. “”We did a little more looking into it and thought it was a really good idea.”

Patel feels modern day daycares have their place, but don’t work as well as they could. The Goddard School, he adds, takes the daycare model and adds a strong developmental education thrust to it, using the most current and academically-endorsed methods of teaching, while collaborating with parents.

“Nowadays, daycare doesn’t work,’’ he said. “It’s the 21st century. Young children’s brains are like sponges at that young of an age, and child development should be an important part of it.”

Goddard School, however, isn’t a dreary, regimented academic facility. It stresses learning in a fun environment, for best results, whether that is through physical activities like yoga or music and languages. “The children work at their own pace,’’ Patel says, adding that the curriculum is “very advanced.”

In site plans issued to Pasco County, the main learning center will be flanked by two playgrounds – one 7,950-sq.-ft. for toddlers, and another 5,068-sq.ft. playground for infants.

Patel says he expects to hire at least 25 teachers – who must hold degrees in early childhood education or related fields and also must complete an exclusive Goddard School training program — and will maintain a low student-to-teacher ration.

The Wesley Chapel location will be the fifth in the Tampa Bay market. Other locations are in Lakewood Ranch, Lithia (Fishhawk area), Temple Terrace and Westchase.

For more information, call Patel at 603-6100, or visit GoddardSchool.com/tampa/wesley-chapel-bruce-b-downs-boulevard-fl.

Rotary Club & Friends Show Appreciation For PCSO With A Day Of Meals

Cops2WEBWesley Chapel Noon Rotary Club member and former New York City police officer Chris Casella finds it hard to watch the news these days.

Every day, it seems, there’s another story about a cop being shot at, or killed.

“It’s heart-wrenching,’’ Casella says. “It’s just crushing what is going on today.”

For Casella, who worked as an NYPD police officer from 1990-2002, and other officers, past and present, working on the force makes you part of a brotherhood. A brotherhood, he reminds you, where men and women rush headlong into dangerous situations most people run away from, to help keep our society safe.

So, to show his appreciation, as well as the appreciation of the Wesley Chapel Rotary Club (which meets every Wed. at noon at Quail Hollow Country Club, or QHCC), he and fellow club member John Anglada — also a former NYPD officer — organized a day to show the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) that its efforts aren’t going unnoticed.

On July 22, Rotary members were waiting at the PCSO’s East Operations Center in Dade City with meals for all of the deputies and staff members who started their shifts at 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

There was egg casserole, donuts, pastries and coffee for breakfast, Publix sandwiches and hors d’oeuvres for lunch, and Publix chicken for dinner.

CopgirlsWEBEach shift also received its own cake.

Casella said the idea to feed the officers sprung from a conversation he had with PCSO Capt. William Davis at a recent Rotary meeting, shortly after 11 Dallas police officers were shot in a targeted attack. Capt. Davis talked about what strange times these were for his officers, many with fewer than three years on the job, now seeing daily reports of their brethren being fired upon in the streets.

Casella and Anglada decided, “We’d like to do something for them that shows them that people in their community do care and appreciate everything that they do,’’ Casella said.

Board member Rick Soriano also loved the idea, and said he was going to mention it at the club’s board meeting. He sent out an email looking for volunteers.

“And the response was just terrific,’’ Casella said. “One club member offered to pay for lunch and dinner and another paid for all the paper and plastic goods. We even had more volunteers than we really needed.”

So, what started as just a breakfast grew into an all-day feeding of more than 100 PCSO employees.

Casella thinks the meals had an impact on the younger officers. He said when he was on the force, he was only ever recognized for his service two times — after the 9/11 attacks and by the Rotary Club he belonged to in New York, which presented him with a plaque after he rescued someone from a fire.

“It’s a tough job, and you usually only get noticed when the bad stuff happens,’’ Casella said, adding that he’d like to see this first “Appreciation Day” evolve into other Rotary projects involving law enforcement.

“Our motto at the Rotary is ‘Service Above Self’ and that just ties in with law enforcement,’’ he said. For more info, visit WCRotary.org.

Wesley Chapel Sunrise Rotary Installs 2016-17 Officers

The Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Sunrise recently welcomed its new president, Ryan Phillips, and other board members for the 2016-17 Rotary year.

Cindy Wren Young is the new secretary, Javan Grant is the club’s new membership chair and president-elect Mitch McCartney is also the Rotary Foundation chair and treasurer. Kathy Schenck is public relations chair.

The installation dinner, held in June, also included a celebration of 2015-16 president Lynn Morgan, and guest speaker Nick Hall, a member of the Rotary Club of Temple Terrace whose cross-country bike ride to raise money and awareness for Rotary International’s “End Polio Now” campaign was featured in this publication last November.

The Sunrise club, which meets Fridays at 7:15 a.m., also at QHCC, was recently awarded the 2015-16 Gold Level Presidential Citation and Public Image Citation at the awards banquet for Rotary Clubs in District 6950 (which includes Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, and Pinellas counties). For more information, visit WesleyChapelRotary.org.