Hills fills the bill for Plymouth HS athletes
PLYMOUTH - Although more of a die-hard football fan, Chelsea Hills is perfectly fine with Michigan getting a 1 seed in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Even if the Wolverines were a No. 16 seed though, it wouldn’t be surprising if she had them advancing all the way to the finals in her brackets. Of course Hills is a little biased having gone to high school in the state and, well, graduating from the University of Michigan.
Hills is putting that Bachelor of Science degree to good use too as Plymouth High School’s athletic trainer. March is National Athletic Training Month and in honor of that, here is an in-depth profile of Hills and her chosen profession.
Ryan Carroll was the longtime PHS trainer, but left at the beginning of
November for a position in the Logansport area, partly due to the non-family friendly hours of the job (more on that later). Kizzy Schuler was the second trainer at PHS and she left around the end of November creating a large void that Hills has filled nicely.
“She has been a great addition and blessing in our time of need,” said Plymouth High School Athletic Director Michael Delp.
“I have been so happy during my time at Plymouth,” said Hills, who is employed through the Saint Joseph Health System. “The athletic department is extremely supportive and appreciative of the services that are provided for the student athletes. I have enjoyed working and collaborating with the coaching staffs to help provide the best care and quickest return to play for the athletes. The athletes are the reason why I do what I do. They make my working environment so fun and exciting. Every day is different and building those relationships and watching their progress is why I wanted to become an athletic trainer.”
Hills’ own athletic experiences go all the way back to age 4 when she started gymnastics. She continued with the sport for many years, then added soccer and softball as well.
She is a graduate of Sturgis (Mich.) High School where she first got an inkling into what her career path might look like.
“I participated in the student athletic training program during all four years of high school under the supervision of James Lioy. Mr. Lioy had a significant influence in my decision to pursue athletic training. He was passionate about advocating the profession and demonstrated the deep, positive impact that trainers can have on their athletes’ lives, (including my own).”
Ironically, one of her current responsibilities is helping teach a similar vocational class at PHS.
While at the University of Michigan, Hills did clinical rotations with the football, men’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, and women’s rowing teams, as well as at Huron High School in Ann Arbor. She also had the
“I have been so happy during my time at Plymouth. The athletes are the reason why I do what I do.”
PHS Athletic Trainer Chelsea Hills
privilege of working as a first responder at Special Olympics Michigan for two of their summer games.
Hills then went on to get her Master’s of Science
degree in Leisure and Sport Management at Middle Tennessee State University. While at MTSU, she worked as a graduate assistant for
two years. During the first year, she was the athletic trainer for men’s and women’s cross country and the track & field teams. Then when an opportunity arose to move over to work with the MTSU football team she took it. “Many people do not fully understand what athletic trainers are and what we do,” added Hills. “We are certified and licensed healthcare professionals that provide a variety of services to their patients. Some services include, but are not limited to: injury prevention, injury evaluation, emergency care, rehabilitation, therapeutic treatment through a variety of modalities (electrical stimulation, ultrasound, manual therapy techniques). If people would like to know more about the athletic training profession, I recommend checking out the National Athletic Training Association website (www. nata.org).” Besides the sheer amount of knowledge and responsibilities involved, the hours can be a little unorthodox. “My daily schedule varies a lot, but I enjoy that no day is ever the same,” said Hills, who outside of work also enjoys hiking, photography, and spending time with her family, boyfriend, and puppy. “My schedule depends on the (vocational) class schedule in addition to the (afterschool) event schedule. When teaching, I often get to the school at noon to prep for the class, other days I arrive around 2 p.m. to prep for the practices and events for the day. When school gets out (around 3:15), I typically start taping athletes for about 20-25 minutes followed by new injury evaluations for 15 minutes. After all new injuries have been evaluated, I take my long-term injured athletes through their rehab programs. After rehabs, events are typically about to start. I attend athletic events and provide medical coverage while watching the games and assisting athletes that get injured. My day usually ends after the event is over and all athletes that need treatment afterwards are taken care of. I also provide coverage for practices and events that occur on Saturdays as well. In my experience, I have found that fall and spring are typically the most hectic due to the large amount of athletes on the football and track teams.” Which means Plymouth’s upcoming spring break may provide some well-deserved down time for a hike with the puppy … and a chance to follow the Michigan men’s basketball team.