After 10 years of working at Normal West, Colleen Daniels has had a large impact on the entirety of our athletic department.

She works hard and has become an integral part of the behind the scenes of our athletics. 

Daniels became an athletic trainer because of her own struggle through injuries. “ I was kind of thinking what can I do to prevent this from happening to other people,” Daniels said about her inspiration to go into the profession. 

As the athletic trainer, she spends time with every team to help injured athletes and ensure safety for the athletes on and off the field.

“From a safety standpoint, she’s phenomenal. She does a good job of pushing kids to get them returned to athletics but would never jeopardize somebody if they’re not ready to return,” West’s athletic trainer Wes Temples noted of Daniels.

By providing coverage for practices and games, Daniels spends countless hours at West. In fact, she’s at every home game for all of the sports and travels with the football team to help with concussion prevention.

When asked about her favorite part of the job, Daniels gushed: “it’s very rewarding to see kids out there doing what they love to do, but the absolute best thing is not when a kid is injured, but when they get to return to their sport.” 

Overall, Daniels is an extremely valuable asset to Normal West Athletics, and she is a role model for students who are interested in a career in sports medicine.

In fact, if you are interested in a career like this, the most common major is exercise science. A Master’s Degree is required, so there are many options for your undergraduate major.

“I would definitely recommend being strong in your science courses. Outside of courses I would recommend getting as much experience as possible with athletics or healthcare” College & Career Counselor Corey Ostling suggests. 

 If you enjoy science courses and are looking for a career in athletics and  healthcare, it may be a fitting for you to become an athletic trainer!