For current Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) student Alan Freedman, MEd, ATC, LAT, his journey as an athletic trainer was often prompted by simply getting involved, evolving into a lifetime career of athletic service and healthcare. Currently an athletic trainer (AT) with the Sports Medicine team for USA Fencing, Freedman explained how it all started for him as a youth in high school.
“During my freshman year, my best friend was the manager of the basketball team and needed help. So I jumped in! When players would get hurt, I found myself really intrigued by it all. The coach, Robert James, asked if I ever thought about athletic training.” Not knowing much about the profession but interested, Freedman attended the CramerTM Athletic Training Camp at Eastern Kentucky University the summer between his freshman and sophomore year of high school.
After high school, Freedman received his undergraduate degree in physical education with a concentration in athletic training from Appalachian State University as well as his master’s degree in education from the University of Virginia.
“Following graduation, I began working in a sports medicine clinic in Rochester, New York, which was affiliated with the University of Rochester and Strong Memorial Hospital,” said Freedman. “While there, I worked with area high schools, professional indoor lacrosse, and outpatient sports therapy.”
For Freedman, his passion comes from not only the variety of his day-to-day work but also the difference he is able to make for athletes.
“The best part of being an AT is no day is the same,” said Freedman. “There is a level of satisfaction you get as an AT when you work with an injured athlete from the time the injury happens all the way through until the athlete returns to pre-injury levels of performance and competition.”
Freedman has also held faculty positions at two CAAHEP/CAATE-accredited athletic training programs and designed a professional program that is now CAATE-accredited. He currently works as the Coordinator of Clinical Education for the Master of Athletic Training program at the University of Illinois Springfield. He also serves as the Chair of the Reinstatement Panel for the Board of Certification, Inc.
But working in academia doesn’t keep Freedman out of the clinic and off the field. Freedman is a member of the Sports Medicine team for USA Fencing–another career avenue that wasn’t necessarily what he had planned or even expected.
“Our children started fencing when we lived on Long Island. Our son was six and our daughter was eight,” explained Freedman.
“Since both my wife and I are athletic trainers, we would barter our services for lessons, tuition, etc. for events held at our club,” said Freedman. Then the owner of the club asked if he wanted to get involved at a national level.
“I had a couple of conversations with the Director of Sports Medicine with USA Fencing and from those discussions, I began providing care at national events in the Fall of 2013.”
Freedman added, “The Sports Medicine team is interdisciplinary with ongoing collaborations between athletic trainers, sports chiropractors, physical therapists, and physicians. It is a model that works well and allows us to really focus on patient-centered care. There are seven national events sanctioned by USA Fencing and I am a member of the team that provides care at the events. Typically there are around 1,500 to 2,000 athletes at each of the events. The culminating event is Summer Nationals, which has around 9,000 participants.”
It was while working with USA Fencing that Freedman decided to earn his PhD in Health Sciences with a concentration in athletic training at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMUoHP).
“My research interest in sports epidemiology developed organically and I dedicated my dissertation efforts in fencing injuries,” said Freedman. “Since our children are fencers, my interest in injuries was piqued even more. I think our research findings will help guide the sport in better prevention and training endeavors.”
Despite a sincere interest to earn his doctorate and do meaningful research, working full time and having a family made pursuing a doctorate overwhelming.
In fact, Freedman had started a PhD program at the University of Pittsburgh earlier in his career, but he explained that after starting “both of my children were born and both of my parents and my wife’s grandmother passed away. The energy I needed to devote to completing my doctorate was diminished by the priority I had to commit to my family and to self-care.”
As he put it, he has “landed in the abyss of ABD (all but dissertation).”
Later, at a meeting for the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), Freedman ran into Malissa Martin, EdD, ATC, the athletic training concentration director for the PhD program at RMUoHP.
“We had known each other for several years and when I ran into her at this particular NATA meeting, she was in the exhibit hall at the RMUoHP booth. She asked where I was with my doctorate. I explained my story and she responded by telling me ‘That just won’t do. What do we need to do to get you done?’ Her interest and concern for me reignited my desire to finish.”
And now, exclaimed Freedman, “I will be there very soon!”
“The mentorship and student-centered nature of RMUoHP is the biggest asset of the University. The administration has chosen faculty who truly inspire the students to thrive. They challenge the students in a way that motivates, not demoralizes. The focus of the classes emphasizes the need for evidence-based practice and innovative approaches to the practice of AT and education,” said Freedman.
For Freedman, his passion, education, and experience, continue to drive the care he provides to athletes and the dedication he gives to educating future athletic trainers.
