One of the hardest parts about sports is dealing with the inconvenience of injuries. It can be very physically, mentally, and emotionally draining to overcome the obstacle of an injury, no matter what time of the season it occurs. But have you ever wondered where to go at Forest Hills Central if you have an injury or who will be treating it? We have two athletic trainers at Forest Hills Central, one of whom is Alex Coon.
This is Alex’s third school year working at Forest Hills Central. Before working here, he went to college for training.
“I went to Grand Valley for both my undergrad in exercise science and my master’s degree in athletic training.”
During college, Alex took the usual path to get his certification as an athletic trainer. For his undergraduate degree, Alex was in college for four years to earn a bachelor’s in exercise science, and for his master’s degree, he was in college for an additional two years.
Right after Alex graduated from college, his first real job was right here at FHC.
“I started the first week of August (three years ago), which was our fall dead week,” he said.
When Alex was in high school, he took some human anatomy classes, and the athletic trainer at his high school taught sports medicine classes that he also took. This athletic trainer would be the one who inspired Alex to pursue sports medicine.
“I always liked what he did, and I liked being around him,” Alex said. “I kind of saw what he did daily, and I enjoyed that, so I started studying at Grand Valley and ended up doing that.”
While in high school, Alex took two AP classes: AP World History and AP Statistics. He played soccer in high school, and the position he played was center-back. Looking back at his high school soccer career, he experienced only one major injury, which was a bad concussion that caused him to miss about a week of school due to its severity.
Alex also has a coworker named CJ (Cornelius), who has worked at Forest Hills Central for about the same amount of time as Alex.
“Alex is a tireless worker. He is super compassionate about the people he works for. He is a great addition to the community and as an athletic trainer,” CJ said.
Both Alex and CJ deal with hundreds of different athletes every year, each with distinct and unique injuries. Springtime is one of the busiest times of the year for our athletic trainers here at FHC because of all the outdoor sports that have practices starting at the same time.
“Usually, my day starts around 1 o’clock. I’ll come in and do any paperwork from the day before or if I’m a little behind,” Alex said. “Then, usually, most of our athletes roll in after school because they need to get taped, do rehab, or receive treatment. After that, I will go out to practice, usually hopping from one practice to another, updating coaches on which kids are hurt, who can’t practice, what their timelines are, and stuff like that. If there are any games or home events that night, we usually set up for those, attend them, and then help anyone who needs assistance during halftime.”
There are a lot of cool aspects to being an athletic trainer, but there can always be ups and downs in any job.
“My favorite part of my job is that I get to see my patients every day. Most other healthcare professionals don’t see their patients every day; it’s usually only once or twice a week. I am privileged enough to see all of you every single day of the week,” Alex said. “My least favorite part of my job would probably be the schedule. I’m working a lot of afternoons, nights, and weekends. Those can sometimes be a little tough, but that’s alright.”
Alex is a hardworking and caring athletic trainer who values his job and the patients he gets to see every day. Students and athletes alike think that Alex is a very helpful person, and he is always there whenever help is needed. Whether it’s a physical or emotional problem, Alex is always willing to help, offer his input, or simply listen to whatever you have to talk about. Injuries can be stressful and bothersome, but having an athletic trainer like Alex can alleviate some of the pain from an injury, even if it’s just by making you smile.
