By Sam Goodykoontz

This year we have many new members of the staff at Tempe Preparatory Academy: new teachers, a new football coach, a new volleyball coach, and a new athletic trainer, Nicole Strout. With so many sports at Tempe Preparatory Academy, she is always very busy. As an athletic trainer, she always attends every practice and every game, helping to prepare the team, tape ankles, help rehabilitate those who are injured and more.

This is Nicole’s first year as an athletic trainer. Originally from New Jersey, she graduated from the University of Tampa this year and spent a month in Taiwan over the summer. While she was there, she learned ancient Chinese ways of athletic training and healing, including cupping, acupuncture and dry needling. She said that learning the new ways were very interesting because they were so different from Western ways of training and healing. She was certified by AT Direct Sports Medicine.

Nicole will only be here for one year. Her plans for the future are getting her master’s degree and learning even more about being an athletic trainer. She is very excited to be here and we are all very excited to have her.