Catching Up With ... 
        1964 and 1968 Olympic Track Trialist Ginny Husted (June 22)

SEATTLE – There's perception. Then there's reality.
 
In the world of athletic training, Julie Flantzer is intimately familiar with both.
 
“In the past, the No. 1 thing was taping ankles. … That's kind of our identity,” said Flantzer, one-third of Seattle Pacific's veteran training staff. “In my high school experience, my trainer was probably 80 years old – and there's no way he was certified. He was like, 'Put some ice on it' – that was it. People would think of that gruff old guy as what a trainer is.
 
“These days,” the New Jersey-born Flantzer said, “I go back to my high school, and it's a legitimate medical system going on.”
 
Ditto at SPU, where Flantzer and fellow assistant Erin Rutledge work with head athletic trainer Jason Durocher to help keep some 200 Falcon athletes healthy, fit, and in one piece as they pursue success in the school's 14 sports programs.
 
Whether treating a simple or complex injury, supervising physical rehab, or filling out the paperwork that documents it all, Durocher, Flantzer and Rutledge are always busy in their facility and offices on the basement of Brougham Pavilion.
 
So busy, in fact, that during the just-completed school year, they logged more than 10,000 treatments.
 
“We've only been tracking since 2007 when I got here, and we've definitely seen a little bit of an increase every year,” said Rutledge, a native of Tacoma. “We're just seeing more athletes come in.”
 
When they do come in, they're face-to-face with a crew that not only knows about their injuries, but knows about them personally, as well.
 
“From an injury standpoint, you deal with the same sports year in and year out, and you see the same injuries year in and year out. Those things, for the most part, stay the same,” said Durocher, who just finished his fourth year at SPU after coming from Hastings College in Nebraska. “What comes to mind is that student-athletes, students, and people in general, are needing more and more from health care – not just physical, but also mental health, emotional health, day-to-day life skills.
 
“In my time, I've seen that increase dramatically,” Durocher added. “It's just a reflection of society.”
 
A TYPICAL DAY? NO SUCH THING
The sign on the door says that the athletic trainers' office and facilities are open from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. That usually surrounds the practice times, and the times when many of the athletes are done with their classes for the day.
 
But factor in road trips or occasions when multiple teams are sharing either Brougham Pavilion or Interbay Stadium, and that six-hour window usually becomes longer.
 
“I try to get here regularly a couple of hours before we open,” Durocher said. “Sometimes, if Erin has an early-morning practice and Julie is going to be here at 5, then Erin might leave earlier. She'll be at the computer doing evaluations or contacting physicians or doing administrative work – all of us try to do that at one time or another.”

Added Rutledge, “You try to show your face to everyone and love everyone.”
 
And that truly does mean everyone who dons a maroon uniform – not just the higher-profile teams.
 
“We travel with basketball and soccer and volleyball and gymnastics. But cross country, track and crew don't have anyone who travels with them, so they don't have that one-on-one interface with us,” Durocher said. “We've tried to make that connection and reach out, and in the time I've been here and the time we've worked together as a staff, we've seen more of an uptick in the care they need.”
 
The fact that no day is really typical is fine with Flantzer, whose eight-year tenure is the longest of SPU's athletic training trio.
 
“One of the best things (about the job) is the unpredictability of what you're going to get,” she said.
 
NOT JUST A JOB – IT'S A PROFESSION
As athletes have evolved, so has athletic training, which has been around since only about 1950. Whether at Seattle Pacific or other schools, those people are now skilled, certified professionals who have gone through the same accredited education program.
 
That's a long way from even just a decade ago when only some did the program while others took the internship route.
 
“It protects the public and ensures the public that all athletic trainers are trained to the same level of knowledge and skill as the next one,” Durocher said. “(Before), the profession wasn't necessarily even – you had people at different levels of education with different levels of experience.”

It's also a long way from the time when ice it, tape it up, or put some heat on it were the primary options.
 
“The big push is evidence-based practice,” Rutledge said. “We're more trained and better-trained in a lot of this stuff. Everything we're going to do is going to have a reason, is going to have scientific proof so we can get the best patient outcome and get the best results.”
 
That includes emphasizing the personal approach.
 
“We see them on their up days and on their down days,” Flantzer said. “They have more obligations now than they've ever had in college.”
 
Their work doesn't go unnoticed.
                                 
“Athletes are just incredibly grateful to us,” Rutledge said. “Even a simple 'thank you' for an ice bag makes my day.”
 
All three athletic trainers are gone for the next few weeks, set to return Aug. 1 in time for the start of fall practice. Some of it will be down time.
 
But not all of it. Flantzer will attend a conference on concussions. Rutledge is going to an athletic trainers conference. Durocher will keep his thumb on things such as supply inventories, ongoing insurance claims, and physicals.
 
“We can't entirely close the door and then open it six weeks later,” Durocher said. “But we basically enjoy it and get away.”
 
Then they get back to keeping SPU's athletes healthy, fit …
 
… and in one piece.