Jen Salmon is currently in her seventh year as Athletic Trainer at Marshall County High School. Known to most as “Trainer Jen”, she is a native of Milford, IL and has been an Athletic Trainer for 18 years. When she’s not on the fields, courts or track at Marshall County, she works for Atlas Physical Therapy as a physical therapy assistant where she continues to give patient care.
March is National Athletic Training Month, recognizing Athletic Trainers from across America for their commitment. They specialize in prevention, assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and illnesses.
The Athletic Trainer is essential to health care in the setting of athletics at schools, universities and professional sports and are highly educated and skilled health sciences professionals.
Jen is invaluable to Marshall County athletes, coaches and parents for a multitude of reasons. Along with prevention and care, she makes sure the athletes are cleared for participation in sports, implements rehabilitation plans for injured players, performs concussion assessments and monitors concussed athletes.
Her many duties don’t stop there. The Athletic Trainer is the first medical professional on the scene after an injury and collaborates with doctors to provide emergency and follow-up care as part of the injury prevention and treatment programs for injured athletes. They are a vital communication link between the injured athlete, the physician, the coach, and the athlete’s family to determine when it’s right to return to practice and competition.
In the summer and fall, Jen can be found monitoring extreme heat and weather for practice and game conditions. Her days begin long before the whistle blows and continues after the final buzzer sounds, wrapping and unwrapping injuries and preparing for all scenarios that could occur in the athletic realm for Marshall County athletics as well as those from opposing teams.
This year’s slogan for National Athletic Trainer Month is “There’s an AT for that” and at Marshall County, they are blessed to have AT Jen on the sidelines.
