Athletic trainer student Go Horiguchi, left, watches as a wrestler works on some balance drills Wednesday afternoon in the training room at Prosper Hall. The drills are designed to retrain the muscles and nerves after an injury. World Photo by Lou Sennick.

From humble beginnings nestled in the woods, the athletic training program and training facilities at Southwestern Oregon Community College now rival those of many Division-I schools.

"We've gone from a single-wide trailer in the woods to the kind of facility and learning environment that is impossible to find at the community college level," athletic trainer Blake Bowers said.

Walking in the door of the training room, located in lower Prosper Hall adjacent to the fitness center, one understands why people come here: Pain. A 'Wall of Pain' bulletin board depicting grisly injuries to student athletes greets all visitors. Deep purple bruising, freshly knifed surgical scars and informational tidbits about the injury, when it occurred and its victim all grace the bulletin board.

"The fall is by far our busiest time because we have all of the teams practicing. That's well over 250 athletes, and you know, athletes just start breaking down and we facilitate their care," Bowers said.

The training program, entering just its fourth year as a full-scale program, has 41 declared majors as of this fall.

Changing certification regulations has forced Southwestern's program to adjust to meet the students' needs. The curriculum is based on the National Athletic Trainers Association Board of Certification guidelines and has been streamlined for students planning on transferring to a four-year university to pursue the bachelor's degree in athletic training. Upon completion of the program, students graduate from Southwestern with dual degrees - the Oregon block transfer and an associate of science with an emphasis in athletic training.

"The work that has gone into developing the athletic training major is certainly a reason why the facilities have been upgraded," Bowers said. "We are very fortunate the college is willing to support that."

A large component of the program is the practicum portion. Students must complete 180 hours of hands-on training by either assisting Bowers in the training room or as a student trainer assigned to a specific team.

The benefits of the training program are dualistic. On one hand, the student-athletes are receiving optimal care during their careers in Laker uniforms. On the other, the declared majors are able to apply what they learn in textbooks by actually performing a trainer's duties.

"If (the college) recruits athletes to play here, then we have a responsibility to take care of them," Bowers said. "For the students in the program, they are learning by helping the athletes. It's really a melting pot of services that we provide to meet the needs of all student-athletes and for the students in the athletic training program they realize they don't have to be an athlete to help out.

"Because if you are like me, I realized early on I wasn't cut out to be an athlete; so athletic training is a perfect way to stay around sports and stay involved," he said.

At one point, the room is simply packed with athletes needing to be taped, iced, heated, massaged, stretched and rehabilitated.

"I used to be able to walk around campus and get things done in the afternoons, but now I am in the training room from noon to 5 p.m.," Bowers said.

That is double the time the training room was open last year.

"We have about 40 athletes come in each day that utilize the room to get iced, heated up or taped before and after practice," Bowers said.

The time spent in the training room counts toward practicum hours for the students. Bowers is the guru; assessing needs and directing his students to facilitate the work with the athletes. The work is non-stop, with one athlete after another hopping up on the taping or rub down tables. The students are applying learned skills and, at times, referencing textbooks to better understand the complexity of an injury.

Three of the student trainers in the room also are assigned to provide services to specific athletic teams.

Carla Anderson, the trainer to the women's basketball program; Lisa Roots, trainer to the women's soccer team; and Go Horiguchi, trainer to the wrestling program.

"I have to be confident in a student trainer's abilities before I will assign them to a team," Bowers said. "They have to have certain skills before they are assigned and not every team has a trainer."

Being a team trainer is a great experience, Bowers said, because the trainer travels with the team and "sees what it is like on the road, working out of a training bag and making all of the decisions about care if there is an injury."

Anderson, who is in her second year with the women's basketball team, likes being assigned to a team because "it's a lot different from the classroom. Being on the road, there are other factors that figure in, like nerves," she said.

With a long-range goal of being a trainer with a basketball team, Anderson plans to transfer to Oregon State University and pursue a bachelor's degree.

Roots, a former Laker soccer player, traded in her jersey this season and assumed the role as the team's assistant coach/student trainer.

"I like (athletic training) because I get to stay involved even when I don't play (soccer) anymore. I came to Southwestern for soccer, but the athletic training program was a huge bonus," Roots said.

Roots plans to transfer to a university to pursue first a bachelor's degree, and then complete her graduate studies.

"I want to work as a trainer over a high school athletic program or at the college level with a soccer team," she said.

Aside from the technical skills learned, Horiguchi gets a chance to improve his English while completing the training program.

"I came here for the athletic training program," Horiguchi said. "Language is the hardest thing. The most difficult part is that I know how things work, but I need to be able to translate the underlying concepts so I can assist the athletes in having a positive attitude towards rehab."

Planning to pursue a bachelor's degree, Horiguchi dreams of being a trainer/translator for the Japanese major league baseball players that come to the United States to play.

"Sometimes it is difficult to explain things in English. I know things in my head in Japanese and have to explain them in English to help the athletes," Horiguchi said of the language barrier.

As athletes head off to practice, Bowers orchestrates the student trainers with the ease of a skilled conductor while simultaneously inquiring about nutrition and hydration with the athletes as they undergo treatment. The room settles to a thumping of music sneaking through the airwaves from the fitness center next door and the students practice their craft on one another while waiting for more student-athletes to find their way into the training room.

"What's really nice is that there are students here that are being recruited specifically for the athletic training program," Bowers said. "The field is very hands-on. There are a lot of opportunities for success."