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Union Memorial Sports Medicine

Sports medicine class exercises options

Students explore career opportunities

Waterford -- Jill Stobber shows things to her students that most teachers don't.

In the middle of class, she sits on a table, unzips and pulls up the leg of her warm-up pants to reveal a knee.

"My kneecap is more tilted than the normal person's," said the 33- year-old licensed athletic trainer and physical education teacher.

It's Stobber's third year running Sports Medicine 101 at Waterford Union High School. The course is believed to be the only one of its kind statewide and is one of 40 new classes that have been introduced at Waterford in the past five years.

Other classes range from criminal science to multicultural literature.

"We want to make sure the curriculum changes to meet the new world we live in," said Waterford Union School District Superintendent Keith Brandstetter.

The course covers everything from the history of sports medicine to the evaluation and treatment of injuries. The students also learn the anatomy of the ankle, knee, hip, shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand.

Students agreed that anatomy was the most difficult part of the course.

"I didn't expect so many bones and ligaments in the body," said 17- year-old Jessie Pfankuch, a senior who's planning to study dental hygiene at a technical college next year.

The class is intense -- it meets every school day for 50 minutes - - and highly technical.

In a recent class, students learned the patella femoral compression test. But they didn't just read about "detecting irritation under the surface of the patella," they had the opportunity to examine Stobber's knee for popping and grinding.

Stobber's goal is not to make her students memorize every aspect of the body.

"My purpose is for them to understand. I don't want to overwhelm them, but prepare them for college," said Stobber, who earned her degree at Carthage College in Kenosha.

She said several of her students have gone on to study radiology technology, ultrasound technology and physical therapy.

Stobber became interested in sports medicine in her sophomore year of high school, after tearing all the ligaments in her right ankle while playing softball.

On top of classwork, students must participate in 90 hours of fieldwork, where they do everything from prepping athletes to taping injuries.

Another highlight is an optional field trip to observe a surgery at Memorial Hospital of Burlington.

"Some kids don't know if they want to be doctors, nurses or physical therapists," Stobber said. "When they see a surgery, some kids can stomach it, others can't."

Enrollment is capped at 16 students, who range from sophomores to seniors, and the class is so popular that there's a waiting list.

"I wanted to learn what goes on in my body," said David Edwards, a 17-year-old junior who runs cross country and track. "If I'm injured, I can understand what's going on."

Former students are clamoring for an advanced sports medicine class in which Stobber would cover the head and the torso, areas too complex to fit into the current curriculum. Administrators may add the advanced class if enrollment in Sports Medicine 101 remains consistent.

Credit:JEFFREY PHELPS

Source:JPHELPS@JOURNALSENTINEL.COM

Wrestler Vinnie D'alie, 14, who rolled his ankle playing football, keeps still as Erica Strasser, 17, tapes his ankle Monday in Sports Medicine 101.

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