Help us welcome our full-time athletic trainer, Ben Schram, from Ohio Valley to the Knights family. Read a little bit about Mr. Schram in his interview below!
Name: Ben Schram
Hometown: Bellbrook, Ohio
Can you tell us briefly about your background and what inspired you to become an athletic trainer?
A little bit about me is that I was an athlete, I played football till 8th grade then focused on wrestling to get a scholarship to wrestle in college. I was a 3-time state placer in high school, with my senior year being a runner-up, I got a scholarship to wrestle D1 in college at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and this is where I was inspired to become an athletic trainer. My first 2 years of college wrestling I wasn't able to wrestle much because of 2 shoulder injuries that cost me my season, I got to hang out in the athletic training room for 2 years doing rehab. At first it was just a goal to get healthy and get back to wrestling but being a good student athlete I was asking questions and curious on why we were doing certain rehab exercises. I got really fascinated on how the body works and how my athletic trainer could identify what issues I was having and how to fix them, this was the beginning of my journey into athletic training. After my undergraduate degree I came back home to wait for the new masters of athletic training program to open at Wright State, in the meantime I did multiple jobs ranging from substitute teacher, highschool wrestling coach, concrete sawing, construction and landscaping. Finally, I just graduated in April of 2024 and am excited to work for Ohio Valley Surgical Hospital and Greenon High School this upcoming year.
What are your key philosophies and approaches regarding athletic training and injury prevention?
I think communication and education are very important when helping an athlete that is injured or has something going on. I have a lot of knowledge on how to help fix an injury or how an injury has happened and being able to explain that to an athlete can be a big part of that athlete getting back to their sport healthy. For example if an athlete has a hamstring injury some of the rehabilitation exercises I use include strengthening the hips overall while also strengthening the hamstring itself, a lot of athletes say "well I can't feel it in my hamstring" so I explain to them yes you shouldnt because we are targeting something else because they are weak there and can be overcompensating in the hamstrings which could have led to this injury. With this communication and education it can get the athlete to be more focused on said task at hand instead of just going through the motions because it doesn't specifically deal with the hamstring. For injury prevention I think a lot of athletes have poor flexibility so being able to get teams/athletes to be more diligent on stretching can help with nagging and bigger injuries. There are also different prevention protocols for different sports such as baseball and softball shoulder specific warm ups to reduce overuse injuries as well as plenty of other prevention techniques for various sports/injuries.
How do you plan to support and enhance the athletic programs at our school district?
I plan to support and enhance the athletic programs by being able to be there for athletes and coaches whether it be something as simple as getting water to the athletes on a hot day, getting them the rehabilitation exercises to overcome their acute injury to get back into their sport or getting them a referral to get them the help they need. Not only that but to also be there for the athlete as a mentor in various aspects of their life, with me being a former athlete, coach, substitute teacher and student I can sympathize with them and understand what they are going through on a variety of different things going on in their busy schedule.
What are your goals for the upcoming school year, and how do you plan to involve and educate our student-athletes, coaches, and parents?
My goals for this year is to form a connection with the athletes, coaches and parents so that I am a trusted source for them to come to for their various needs throughout the year. I also want to be able to provide excellent care for the individuals I see throughout the year so they feel comfortable and confident when they need to seek help or when they return to their sport from an injury. involving and educating the athletes, coaches and parents will come from good communication whether that be telling a coach or parent when I will be there, where I will be at or what needs to happen to get that athlete back to what they love to do.