Glad you asked! Somehow, I managed to go 3 years without knowing what the heck the Sports Medicine program at Ike even was. I had friends in the program, and I knew a member of the Ike Bald Man Club, Mr. Buffum, was one of its teachers. So a few weeks back, at Fall Fest, Mr. Buffum passed the 5-star bake sale table, and we struck a deal. If he bought from our bake sale, I’d write a piece about Sports Med. So here we are; let’s take a deep dive into what Sports Med looks like at Eisenhower.
The first place I looked was the Ike Sports Med Instagram page (@ikesportsmed — go check them out!). I went down an internet rabbit hole and saw some of their past activities. That led me to find the image for this article: Mr. Buffum with the Ike shoppie (@ike_shoppie). After that, I interviewed the incredible individuals Maliah Strickland and Brooklyn Fredrick-Rock. I asked them the following questions: 1.)What is something you wish people knew about Sports Med? 2.)What is your favorite thing to do in Sports Med? 3.) What is something that Sports Med has taught you? 4.)What is a favorite memory you have from participating in Sports Med?
Let’s take a look at their responses, shall we? Maliah responded with “1.)One thing I want other people to know about sports medicine is that we don’t just fill water bottles and hand them out; we prepare for games and practices, tape athletes, and rehabilitate. We have a lot more jobs and responsibilities than you might think. 2.) My favorite thing to do in sports medicine is preparing for games! Mr. Buffum and Mr. Holliday play music while we tape and get ready for the games. 3.) I think the most important thing sports medicine has taught me is how to take initiative during stressful situations. 4.)My favorite memories from sports medicine are going to and from away games! We always end up having a super fun time, and I love every second of sports medicine!”
Brooklyn responded with “1) Something I wish that people knew about sports medicine is that it’s not always about being serious or needing to be extremely smart to be in the practicum. A lot of it is about being in a healthy environment where people can express themselves; we get to laugh and make new friends most of the time. I’d say that getting to learn and experience what goes on in a medical environment is a plus side to joining the practicum!2) My favorite thing to do in Sports Med is getting to help out with our student athletes. I enjoy getting to know them and watching them gradually return to play their sport normally. I’ve made a lot of new friendships with the athletes who come in for rehab. It makes me happy knowing they got the help they needed and are no longer injured.3) Something Sports Med has taught me is how to prevent and recognize different injuries. I like staying safe and helping others stay safe, so that extra knowledge is really helpful. Especially when someone has a serious injury that needs immediate care. 4) My favorite memory from participating in Sports Medicine was last year during state track. It was the last day of state track, and we had our big waterboys out on the field during the varsity boys’ 1800-meter race. My friends and I were tired and hot from working all day, so as runners came off the track, we decided to spray them with water from the waterboys’ nozzles! After that, I started spraying my other club members, and we all had a good laugh about it!”
To wrap things up with a nice little bow, I got to write this article and learned more about these people in amazing blue polos. I learned that many of these people are involved in so much beyond sports med. These people are involved in sports, theatre, band, and just about every other club we have at ike. They put in the work to keep our athletes safe and represent the best of our school. Mod Pizza fundraiser! Stay tuned for more details!!
