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Hello, my name is Gilli Griffith, and I am a seasonal intern for the Jacksonville Jaguars. As a first-year intern, learning how to pack and plan for team travel has been a huge learning experience for me. Beyond packing the team's gameday essentials, we also play a vital role in helping athletes adapt to routine changes on the road. One travel strategy I use, which aids in both packing and athlete readiness, is keeping notes throughout the week on individual athlete needs. Tracking specific treatments, modalities, braces, or taping preferences ensures every necessary item is packed and that athletes can maintain their usual routines. Keeping a running, updated list leads to an easier packing process and, ultimately, a successful gameday on the road. With our London trip just around the corner, I'd greatly appreciate any tips or tricks you all have for international travel and packing!

Hi! I am currently a 1st year MSAT student at Weber State University. What key traits make a young AT or intern exceptionally teachable and rewarding to mentor? I always try to test ideas myself first (PDCA cycle) and develop my own rationale before asking questions, an approach echoed by Naoya Fujii, who emphasized thorough research and developing one's own clinical reasoning before asking thoughtful, non-generic questions. As I prepare for professional sports internships, how can I best maximize learning from mentors? Also, what mindset or attitude did you prioritize during your own intern day? If you could share any specific actions you actually took, I would greatly appreciate it.

From my experience working with collegiate basketball, I think one of the biggest challenges with in-season training is finding the balance between maintaining consistency and respecting the physical demands of a long competitive season. With travel, practices, games, and the academic responsibilities of student-athletes, it can be easy for training to become less of a priority. One strategy I have found particularly important is maintaining communication between athletic training, strength and conditioning, and coaching staff. When everyone understands the athlete's current workload, injury status, and recovery needs, we can make more informed decisions about modifying training rather than automatically canceling sessions. I also think it is important to establish the expectation early that in-season training remains part of the overall performance plan. The objective isn't necessarily to push athletes through the same workload they would complete during the offseason, but rather to maintain strength, power, and movement quality while managing fatigue. Sometimes that means shortening a session, reducing volume, or modifying exercises based on an athlete's individual needs. From the athletic training perspective, I believe we can help create buy-in by demonstrating how strength and conditioning supports rehabilitation, injury management, and return-to-play progression. When athletes understand that training is being individualized to help them perform and remain available throughout the season, they may be more receptive to maintaining consistency. Ultimately, I think the key is making training adaptable without allowing it to become optional. Maintaining that balance requires collaboration, communication, and a shared understanding that strength and conditioning is an important component of the athlete's overall healthcare and performance plan.

Hi @MGould I have typically kept my on-the-road equipment pretty light—mostly what you have listed, such as bands and recovery modalities. If I needed larger pieces of equipment, I would usually request weight room access at the places we traveled to, especially for longer stays. I’m curious, has your travel equipment list evolved as you’ve worked at different levels, such as collegiate vs. professional?

Hey Corey. I am in the same boat as you with using some of my business skills. Although my career has been primarily in athletics, earning a minor in business has influenced the way I approach athletic training. It has helped me recognize that our role extends beyond clinical care and that many of the skills used in business, such as organization, communication, resource management, and process improvement, are directly applicable to our profession. In my experience, these principles have been particularly useful when managing the day-to-day operations of an athletic training room, coordinating care among multiple healthcare providers, and supervising staff. I've learned that creating efficient systems and establishing clear processes can improve communication, reduce unnecessary inefficiencies, and ultimately allow us to dedicate more time and attention to our student-athletes. It has also influenced how I approach leadership and decision-making. Understanding the operational and financial aspects of a department helps me consider not only what is best clinically, but also how to implement sustainable solutions that benefit the entire organization. Ultimately, my business background has reinforced the idea that being an effective athletic trainer involves more than providing excellent clinical care. It also requires the ability to manage people, resources, and processes in a way that supports both the healthcare team and the athletes we serve.

When recovery time is limited, my top three priorities would be hydration, nutrition, and sleep. Hydration is something I’ve seen emphasized heavily during my time with the Cincinnati Bengals. It starts before practice or competition and continues throughout the day, rather than waiting until an athlete feels thirsty. Nutrition then helps replace the energy and nutrients used during competition and provides the building blocks needed for recovery. Finally, sleep gives the body and brain the opportunity to recover and prepare for the next performance. What I find interesting is that research doesn't necessarily support one “magic” recovery strategy. A 2022 systematic review of recovery methods in professional football examined 39 studies and found that the effectiveness of different recovery strategies varies depending on the outcome being measured. That makes the athletic trainer's role especially important: when time is limited, how do we determine which recovery strategies will provide the most benefit for that individual athlete? Question for the group: When you have a short recovery window between competitions, how do you individualize your priorities for hydration, nutrition, sleep, and other recovery strategies? Querido, S. M., Radaelli, R., Brito, J., Vaz, J. R., & Freitas, S. R. (2022). “Analysis of Recovery Methods’ Efficacy Applied up to 72 Hours Postmatch in Professional Football: A Systematic Review With Graded Recommendations.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35961644/

I work with amateur and professional golfers and have completed numerous "sweat tests" in different environmental conditions in order to estimate losses and then develop individual hydration strategies. Have you experience, or recommendations to measure sodium losses? For example the Gatorade Sweat Patch (I have never used it). How accurate is it? Or should we use it as a decent guide? Thanks!

I agree! Recovery is definitely a “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” situation. Hydration, nutrition, rest, and movement all work together. I’d also add sleep, mobility, and listening to your body sometimes the best recovery tool is knowing when to chill instead of trying to do the most. Recovery isn’t about doing more; it’s about doing the right things at the right time.