There are many aspects of UW athletics that make the university stand out among the rest in the nation. One feature that shines specifically is the sports medicine provided to the athletes on campus. The mission statement from the department is “to provide an integrated health care delivery system to our intercollegiate student athlete population.”
At UW, head athletic trainer Bob Waller has recently entered his third season in the position. Though his primary responsibility lies with Cowboy football, Waller also has primary duties that include preventive care, immediate care for injured athletes at practices and games, and the rehabilitation of injured athletes. Waller came to UW after assisting in athletic training at the University of New Mexico. At New Mexico, he earned a master’s degree in sports administration, which later brought him to Wyoming.
Outside of his collegiate sport training, Waller spent season-long appointments as the head athletic trainer for the NFL Europe’s Hamburg Sea Devil’s, Scottish Claymores, Barcelona Dragons, and the assistant athletic trainer for the Rhein Fire, according to Wyoming Athletics. He also spent time with internships with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, ESPN’s Extreme Games, and with rodeo’s Justin Sports Medicine.
There also are six additional graduate assistants who are athletic trainers on campus. The students assist in the other core sports at the university and hope to someday achieve the same position that Waller has here in Laramie.
This branch of medicine deals with athletes’ physical fitness, treatment and prevention of injuries related to various sports and strenuous amounts of exercise. Though schools have provided physicians to assist athletes throughout the years, it has not been until recently that sport and exercise medicine has emerged to become a distinct profession in health care.
The main objective of sports medicine services encompasses various aspects that mainly revolve around prevention, injury recognition, treatment, rehabilitation, education and counseling. Having these expectations will allow current and future student athletes to maintain a high quality of life.
