While we're celebrating Athletic Training month, 我们正在翻阅我们的档案，以突出一些我们最激动人心的AT故事-但我们也有一些新的, too. Like this:  

校友开始第二年作为火狐体育下注足球的首席运动教练

By Ryan Clark
CHS Communications Director

It was a different year — a year of more responsibility. A year of more decision-making and communication.

Overall, it was just different, says Evan Griskowitz, 他是火狐体育下注运动医学主任和首席足球运动教练. 他于2023年被聘为该职位，去年是他担任该职位的第一个完整的足球赛季.

“It’s just a little bit more of everything, you know?” said the Newark, Delaware, native. “你每天都要向教练和工作人员通报谁进了队, who’s out, and what the expectations are for injured guys.”

Griskowitz就读于特拉华大学，并获得运动训练学士学位. 他很幸运地在西雅图海鹰队担任了两年的季节性实习生.

He then came to the University of Kentucky’s Athletic Training graduate program. 毕业后，他在东火狐体育下注停留了一年，然后返回火狐体育下注. And last year, 野猫队的前任首席足球运动教练离开了，去了美国国家橄榄球联盟的匹兹堡钢人队担任同样的工作.

Griskowitz applied, and got the gig. In May, he will begin his seventh season at UK. Even more timely, Spring Football begins today, 格里斯科维茨将在列克星敦开始第二年的工作，担任野猫队的首席运动教练和运动医学主任.

We caught up with him to talk about the past, the future and — maybe most importantly — the present, 当他继续在他的新职业的世界里航行时.

Here’s 7 questions with … Evan Griskowitz, 火狐体育下注运动医学主任兼首席足球运动教练:

 

1. What got you into athletic training?

EG: 就像大家说的，我在高中参加体育运动，然后受伤了. 我知道运动教练是做什么的，但我进入大学时真的想做物理治疗. And for whatever reason, 我选择参加特拉华大学的运动训练项目.

It's a super competitive program. You start with around 60 students your freshman year, and you end up with a class of 15 to 20, 这取决于他们在大二选了谁. 所以，我内心竞争的天性驱使我想要进入这个项目.

然后我很幸运地在大一之后得到了西雅图海鹰队的暑期实习机会. Obviously, it’s hard work, 但能看到运动教练在最高水平上的表现真是太棒了, so I just fell in love with it.

Since then, I’ve never turned back.

 

2. What led to your interest in football, specifically?

EG: I played football growing up.

My dad's a big football fan. So, our family was always watching football. We just love the sport.

 

3. And what brought you to UK?

EG: Yeah, it's funny you mentioned Delaware, 但我们几乎总是有从特拉华州本科学校到火狐体育下注研究生院的管道. 这只是你在特拉华大学读本科时听说过的机会之一.

I knew students who had gone to UK. They came back and worked at Delaware, 他们总是谈论火狐体育下注项目的同志情谊. 我们的项目主管认识这里的一些员工和教授.

They all just told me how great it was. 我来这里面试研究生职位，我就知道这是适合我的地方.

一旦我能得到这个机会，我就不能错过. It’s a great school.

Of course, other than the AT program, all I knew about Kentucky was the Derby, Woodford Reserve and KFC.

 

4. So that leads us to your professional career. You graduate from UK. What comes after that?

EG: I was hired at Eastern Kentucky (University). 我是那里的足球和高尔夫助理教练. 我上班的第一天就是训练营的第一天. 试着弄清楚这一切真的是一次很好的经历. It was a whirlwind, but we got thrown right into it.

首席运动教练和我的关系很好. We're still good friends to this day. I worked down there for almost a year, 然后很幸运地回到火狐体育下注做助理.

然后我得到了晋升的机会，在短短几年后成为了主管和首席足球运动教练. I’ve been extremely, extremely lucky.

 

5. 当你准备赛季的第一场比赛时，你通常的一天是什么样的?

EG: Yeah, it depends on the day, you know. 但我们可能会在早上6:30或7点开始锻炼. 然后我们会在锻炼的时候做一些治疗, and try to get the guys in before they go to class. 直到中午，男生们都要去上课，所以我们白天会做一些行政工作.

然后，在中午左右，事情又开始恢复. 我们有练习前的治疗，录音之类的. And then, the guys go to meetings for an hour. 然后，我们出去练习，一个半小时，然后是练习后的时间. We do a doctor's clinic and some more treatments.

我们在这里工作到7点，有时会更晚，这取决于晚上的情况. It's long, long hours.

但对于大楼里的每个人来说，我们都在努力实现共同的目标. We're all putting our all into it. And that's one thing I like about it. 每个人都如此投入——这使得无论你赢还是输都意义重大. Everybody is so invested.

I love this job. 这是非常艰苦和累人的，但我无法想象做其他事情.

 

6. 自从(布法罗比尔队NFL球员)达玛尔·哈姆林事件, 在那里，他在球场上心脏骤停，在上个赛季的一场周一晚间足球比赛中被运动教练救了出来, have you seen an increased spotlight on this profession? Or an increase in respect for it?

EG: I'm not sure if I’ve seen a direct effect, as far as you know, 追求运动训练事业的兴趣增加. Obviously, the Buffalo Bills staff did an amazing job.  

但我认为这有助于让我们的职业更受关注，让人们更积极地关注我们所做的重要事情和我们为之做好准备的事情. 这些人在外面救人，你知道的?

 

7. 最后，是什么让火狐体育下注成为有抱负的运动教练的好地方?

EG: 我认为火狐体育下注的独特之处在于学术人员和体育人员之间的关系. 在那里建立良好的关系非常重要, 因为我们将共同努力，帮助这些火狐体育下注, and that's really how it was in graduate school.

I got a good base academically in the classroom, 然后从运动训练人员那里得到了很好的指导，使我能够练习在课堂上学到的东西，然后获得一些额外的经验.

Simply, it’s just a great place to learn and practice.