Tusculum College Athletic Trainer Sarah Brooks will soon have the opportunity to work with athletes seeking to make their marks on the national and international stage.
Brooks has been selected to be a volunteer service provider for two weeks at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Co.
Assignments for athletic trainers are not made until they arrive at the training center, so Brooks will not know the scope of her duties until she reaches Colorado Springs later this month. Her duties may include care for athletes during practices and competitions, assisting in the Sports Medicine Clinic at the Training Center and maintaining daily treatment logs or other required documentation.
To be eligible for a volunteer service provider position, an athletic trainer must be certified for at least five years. Those who apply and are approved for a position enter a pool, from which the volunteer service providers are chosen. Brooks applied for a position and waited to hear the result.
And recently, a call came. “They called and I all heard was Olympic Training Center,” said. “I am thoroughly excited about going.”
The evaluation of Brooks’ performance at the Olympic Training Center will determine if she will be chosen to further serve Olympic athletes. Volunteer service providers can serve at four levels.
Service at the Olympic Training Centers is the initial level. Those who receive good evaluations at that level are eligible for the second level, which involves national and international competitions. The third level also involves high-level competition and the fourth level is the Olympic Games.
While she is at the Olympic Training Center, her food and accommodations will be provided. Travel expenses are not covered, but Brooks has received a scholarship for her travel from the Watauga Orthopaedics Foundation.
The U.S. Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs is the headquarters for the U.S. Olympic Committee administration and the Olympic Training Center programs. Twelve USOC member organizations have their national headquarters in the complex, and 12 other member organizations and two international sports federations are located nearby in Colorado Springs. The complex is able to provide housing, dining, recreational facilities and other services for up to 557 coaches and athletes at one time.