Part of the team

When two key Creston/Orient-Macksburg seniors left the field with injuries in Friday’s district football championship game at Carroll, they weren’t met by a distracted coach trying to keep one eye on the ongoing action.

They were attended to by a professional in the medical field they consider to be part of the team.

Mount Ayr native Chris Leonard succeeded Kenny Lents as Greater Regional Medical Center athletic trainer assigned to Creston High School in May 2012, after holding a similar position in Waco, Texas.

Since then, he has been a daily part of the Panther athletic scene at practices and games. Whether it’s taping ankles before practice, treating injuries that suddenly occur during action or helping a student recover from a major injury, Leonard is involved.

Friday night, when all-state running back Chase Shiltz was battling ankle and knee issues and receiver/safety Zach Carlson sustained a concussion, coaches were thankful Leonard was present to lend his expertise.

“We couldn’t function without him,” said Brian Morrison, Creston/O-M head football coach. “He’s knowledgeable about every type of injury a kid could have. Last Friday, after we got back to Creston, he was checking on those kids to see how they were doing. When these types of things happen, he checks on them again before Monday. He always keeps us up to date and fills me in on the injuries and which kids might be out. The kids trust him because they’ve seen first hand how good he is at what he does.”

When one of the state’s top all-time running backs is helped off the field, there’s anxiety on the bench as well as in the bleachers. Through it all, Leonard focuses on his job.

“He does a really good job doing all the tests and keeping you informed on what the possibilities are,” said Shiltz, who had worked with Leonard on recoveries from a broken hand and meniscus knee surgery after the previous two football seasons. In both cases, he started the wrestling season late but came on strong to win state championships.

“Friday was the perfect example of what Chris does in situations like that,” said Darrell Frain, the school’s head wrestling coach and assistant football coach. “He let us know what was going on with those guys and we trust him. It’s a tough situation for the kid, but he never lets the kid get too excited or upset. He stays really calm and helps them understand what’s going on.”

Emergency scene

The ability to recognize trouble through that daily contact with athletes was never on display better than the near-fatal situation that faced Creston/O-M wrestler Tayler Pettit at the 2015 state wrestling tournament. An undetected heart ailment led to a seizure and required several emergency resuscitations by EMTs at Wells Fargo Arena before he underwent surgery at nearby Mercy Hospital.

“Chris knows these kids and their personalities, and he knew something wasn’t right with Tayler early on,” Frain said. “He just knew. He went and got help immediately, and I hate to think about not having him there that day. He’s part of our team now, no doubt.”

Frain’s own son, Brody, has had four major injuries in 13 months and been through the grind of rehabilitation with Leonard after orthopedic surgeries at GRMC. So, coach Frain recognizes Leonard’s value to parents as well.

“(Wife) Kim is a nurse and understands more of what he’s talking about,” Frain said. “But I see the respect from her for what he’s saying, and I know he must know what he’s talking about. He’s been spot on with his early exams of Brody. He listens to the athlete and tells you what you need to know.”

Partnership

The idea for having an athletic trainer assigned from GRMC was hatched during a conversation between CHS Activities Director Jeff Bevins and Monte Neitzel, GRMC chief executive officer. The plan was put in place in August 2010.

“Jeff had AT (athletic training) coverage when he was at Chariton, and he asked if GRMC was looking to provide something like that,” Neitzel said. “We were, but we were looking at broader coverage of southwest Iowa college and high school sporting events.”

Bevins said it’s one of the best things that’s happened at CHS during his tenure there.

“There’s no mandate from the state to have an athletic trainer,” Bevins said. “But Monte talked with (Superintendent) Tim Hood and me about their plans to expand in that area. We don’t have a fee with having Chris. It’s a great partnership. He’s done a nice job with the kids here and working with the coaches and parents, and in turn, the hospital has gotten a lot of referrals for surgeries and those rehabilitation things those families need.”

Grateful athletes

Two CHS seniors looking to extend their playing careers beyond high school overcame major surgeries through Leonard’s daily diligence. They speak glowingly of making it through the experience because Leonard was there guiding them every step along the road to recovery.

Football player Colton Bolinger had four injuries to his wrist and knee between eighth and 11th grades, including three surgical procedures. He now feels 100 percent as a starter for the state-ranked Panthers.

“He knows what boundaries to set and how hard to push,” Bolinger said. “You do the same exercises day after day. I’d be here until 8:30 or 9 every night. This year, my first healthy season in a long time, I went over and fist-bumped with him before the first game. It was kind of like, this is what we’ve been working for.”

Basketball player Cammy Rutherford crumpled to the floor with a painful knee injury during her sophomore season, requiring reconstructive surgery to her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus.

It was a recovery that spanned nearly eight months, but one day sticks out in Rutherford’s memory.

“We had been working every day for an hour and a half of exercises in rehab,” Rutherford said. “Finally one day he said, ‘Try running up the hallway.’ I said, ‘What? Run!’ I couldn’t believe it. I was so excited to finally be able to just run. He’s very good about pushing you and keeping you on track.”

Leonard, a former athlete at Mount Ayr Community High School, gets satisfaction from seeing a young athlete regain his or her health. It’s a reason why he changed his academic pursuit from animal science and pre-veterinary work at Iowa State University and went on to earn a degree in health and human performance.

“I had a coach in high school, Tim Kloewer, who did some athletic training on the side and I started to think that I would enjoy that more than animal science,” Leonard said. “This is the perfect marriage between sports and medicine. Every day is different. Being around athletics is a great atmosphere to work in.”

Leonard is just one of several athletic trainers with Mount Ayr heritage. Drew Yoder is an assistant trainer with the Golden State Warriors in the NBA. His brother, Brandon Yoder, is head of athletic training at Marquette University. Natasha Gourley of Clearfield works at Mount Ayr football games for Ringgold County Hospital. Shane Bishop was a trainer for the University of Missouri wrestling team before recently returning to the family farm near Mount Ayr.

Leonard has frequently consulted with his comrades in the field to exchange information and continue learning his craft.

Grateful coaches

“We are so lucky,” said Creston Volleyball Coach Polly Luther. “He does more than people realize. He and his family live near Lenox, and there would be times when we had Saturday tournaments in southwest Iowa and he’d meet us there early in the morning to get our kids taped up. He really cares and invests himself.”

Softball Coach Mike McCabe said Leonard gives the school staff daily progress information on a player’s status.

“In the past, I’ve sent kids to their doctor for a sprain and they’re on crutches with a note saying they’d be out for three weeks,” McCabe said. “Well, they’re going to error on the side of caution, and they’re not with the kid every day making sure they’re doing the things necessary to recover properly. With Chris, on the other hand, they might get back a lot sooner with some focused treatment on that injury. He’s really a good resource for parents, too, on the questions that come up about their child’s health.”

“He takes his job seriously. It’s important to him,” Morrison said. “There are people in his line of work who aren’t as professional as he is. Especially now, when there is so much talk about concussions, it’s great to have someone like him taking that kid through each step of the protocol. We never want to put a kid in harm’s way.”

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Creston High School isn't the only institution benefiting from the services of an athletic trainer from Greater Regional Medical Center.

Clarinda resident Kelsi Huseman, a Nebraska native, serves as trainer for Southwestern Community College athletics as well as sports at Southwest Valley High School, which consists of the former Corning and Villisca districts.

Before Huseman arrived in the fall of 2015 for the many Southwestern sports, the college relied on visits from trainer Chris Leonard, whose work was already spread thin attending to CHS athletes every day.

Athletic Director Todd Lorensen said it's made a big difference in the care and prevention of injuries on campus.

"With all of the precautionary stuff you hear today, especially with head injuries, it's huge to have her on hand for our coaches and athletes," said Lorensen, who is also the head men's basketball coach at SWCC. "She makes decisions on whether kids can practice or not, and I don't question it one bit."

Lorensen said Huseman's work behind the scenes every day, not just on game day, keeps athletes on track to perform in their sport.

"There are things she can do on a daily basis with them to strengthen tendons and muscles around the injured area," Lorensen said. "The progression from day one through day three and four, she knows what they should be doing. It's been a major improvement in our athletic department since she joined us."

Huseman, who got her master's degree in athletic training from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, worked as a trainer for a high school in the Kansas City area before joining GRMC in September 2015.

"My first priority is home games here and at Southwest Valley," Huseman said. "At Southwest Valley, I do an injury clinic once a week on Mondays. Living in Clarinda, it makes it easier to get there after I've been at Southwestern. It works out pretty well."
Both Huseman and Creston High School trainer Chris Leonard are available "on call" for injury services at other area high schools.

Jill Hoakison, GRMC director of rehabilitation services, said the presence of athletic trainers in area schools is an important part of a wide gamut of services designed to assist residents in the region in the treatment and recovery from injuries.

Instrumental in that circle of treatment are orthopedic surgeons William Ralston and Ron Charles, along with physician assistant Jake Davis. Also involved are employees in GRMC physical therapy and occupational therapy.

"The role of the athletic trainer is injury prevention and injury evaluation," Hoakison said. "Then they can make the appropriate referrals, whether it's with their primary-care provider or our orthopedic team. Then, we have the rehab team to get them back, working on their balance, strength and range of motion. When we have someone in the school system, they can sometimes catch things that might otherwise get overlooked."

Hoakison said the GRMC staff is working with area school districts on head injury education, in conjunction with increased national attention on concussion awareness and treatment protocols. She said staff will be working with a broader range of athletes in the area on safety matters and injury prevention.

And, the traditional practice of an athletic physical conducted prior to participation in sports is morphing into a more comprehensive exam. It is designed for early detection of potentially critical issues, such as the heart ailment that nearly cost former Creston/O-M wrestler Tayler Pettit his life while participating in the 2015 state tournament.

"We're moving away from the sports physical to what we call a well-child exam," Hoakison said. "We're looking for some of the underlying things that might get overlooked, and hopefully prevent serious things from happening."