Shelby Bradley | Sports Co-Editor
Dylan Peters is a recent graduate from Augustana University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Athletic Training. He comes to Buena Vista University (BVU) joining the Athletic Training department as a graduate assistant in order to complete his certification of becoming an Athletic Trainer.
Peters coincidentally discovered BVU from an alum that was recently hired at Augustana by the name of James Day.
“One of the recent hires at Augustana came from BVU and only had wonderful things to say about it. Then once I saw the beautiful campus and lake, I was sold!” Peters said.
The BVU Athletic Training program always has high interactive activity with individual sports teams along with the athletes. Peters is currently working with the women’s soccer team, and will also assist the men’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams during their off-seasons.
“The most important thing about having an Athletic Trainer specifically assigned to a team is the rapport that is built between the Athletic Trainer and the athlete,” head women’s soccer coach Sheena Van Roekel said. “At BVU, we’re pretty lucky to have the Certified Athletic Trainers that we do. They’re invested in the athletes and the improvement of their physical health and even educate them while they work through the process of treatments or rehabilitation.”
Head Athletic Trainer, Dominic Worrell, reiterates the importance of Athletic Trainers developing relationships among the various athletic teams on campus. Athletic Trainers are able to personalize their treatments based on their condition and goals by allowing athletes to become more comfortable when interacting with them. Worrell claims it makes the process of evaluating issues and injuries go much more smoothly enabling Athletic Trainers to address them more quickly.
“Dylan has stepped in and done an excellent job so far. It is a difficult transition for many people to take on the independent role as a Certified Athletic Trainer. Dylan has done well to find a balance of handling cases with autonomy and then asking for help when difficult cases do present,” Worrell said.
Coach Van Roekel and Worrell both spoke highly of Dylan and his ability to create a unique perspective for athletes and other Athletic Training students.
“Dylan has taught the ladies [women’s soccer players] what it means to fully trust and believe in someone that wants to take care of them. He has done a great job of finding a way to understand each of our ladies’ personalities and who they are,” Van Roekel said.
Worrell added, “Dylan also brings another unique perspective and skill set for our Athletic Training students to learn from. He has done well to keep our students actively engaged and involved in athletes’ cases.”
Photo by: Emily Kenny
