Mental/Emotional and Physical Health
The fifth sub-category is the effect of work responsibilities on participants
mental/emotional health and physical health. Many of the participants believed as though their
mental/emotional health has suffered due to their profession. Many indicated that the stress of
not turning work off had led to increased stress and anxiety. A couple of participants stated they
believed their mental/emotional health had improved. They indicated that they were stronger and
more capable of handling the stresses of athletic training with age. Half of the participants
indicated they believed their physical health had suffered because of their job. Some participants
suffered significant health issues due to injuries at work. A few participants stated their physical
health had improved because they need to maintain a high level of fitness to perform their job
correctly. For one participant, she thought she has maintained a satisfactory level of mental and
physical health throughout her career.
Of the participants, that indicated their mental and emotional health has suffered. A few
believed that they had become mentally and emotionally stronger through the course of their
career. A few other participants stated their physical health had taken a hit through the course of
their careers. P3 stated, “it’s a big stressor. A lot of my identity is tied to my job. I am passionate
about what I do, but I also lose sleep about it. I can’t suddenly turn it off”. P4 and P6 shared this
sentiment of passion for career and the constant worry about student athletes' health and well-
being. P2 has had her mental well-being compromised by the added stress of COVID-19.
Mentally it’s been hard. Especially now, with COVID-19, it’s hit me hard. My
mentor always said you have two buckets. If you empty one and never fill it back up,
you will become uneven. You have to have people filling that bucket back up.
Conversely, P8 believed that mentally, she has gotten stronger. Partly because of getting older
and having more experience.
For the participants that indicated their physical health has suffered, P8 said physically
her health has not improved. Stating that standing for hours on end at practice, competitions, or
daily student-athlete care takes a toll on your body. P5 and P7 experienced significant injuries
because of work. P5 shared, “physically, it’s the first time I’ve ever been injured on the job, and
it happened because I was tired.” P7 experienced a life-threatening health condition. She
detailed her experience about pressing through extremely difficult working conditions. Despite
not feeling well, she pressed on because she didn’t have enough staff to allow her to step away
and care for herself. These circumstances landed her in the hospital and required her to take an
extended medical leave of absence from work for her body to recover fully.
Work Requirements
The final sub-category within role conflict and role overload is the effect that work
responsibilities have on the participants' ability to complete daily work tasks or complete
professional improvement opportunities. The majority of participants stated they did not have
enough time within their day to complete the tasks required for their job. They also indicated
they did not have adequate time to attend opportunities for professional improvement. Again,
lack of staffing was a significant issue noted by the participants for reasons why they struggled to
have enough time in the working day to complete everything. As P10 stated, there is always
more work than there are bodies to complete the work. Athlete care can rarely wait for a more
convenient time, but paperwork will still be there no matter when you get to it. Very few
participants believed they had adequate time to complete their daily tasks and complete
professional improvement opportunities.
Most participants did not feel like they had enough time to complete the daily
documentation tasks or complete meaningful professional development activities. P10 stated,
“there is never enough time. The shortage of staff is a major contributor. There is too much to
do and not enough time to do it”. P9 shared, “absolutely not. It’s this instant gratification world
we live in.
Support Networks
Support networks were an essential factor for the participants and their ability to
continue to work as certified athletic trainers in the NCAA DII collegiate setting. Support came
from various sources within the athletic department. The researcher asked questions relating to
the support from the athletic director, coaches, fellow certified athletic training co-workers, the
department's overall atmosphere, the specific support that certified athletic training parents
receive, and the support between the female members of the department. Mazerolle et al. (2015)
found that female certified athletic trainers noted the importance of support from peers, coaches,
and family to balance college athletics and parenting demands successfully. Table 3 illustrates
the breakdown of participant responses to the interview questions about support networks in the
NCAA DII collegiate athletics setting. The support network theme will be analyzed in the same
format as the prior theme.
Athletic Director Support
Athletic directors oversee the athletic department's operations and set the tone for the
atmosphere within the department. For the participants in this study, their support is a significant
factor in their decision to continue working in the collegiate setting. Half of the participants
described their athletic directors as supportive of athletic training and believed they encouraged a
supportive department atmosphere. Few participants did not feel as though their athletic directors
were supportive of athletic training. The lack of support had one participant considering a career
change. The other participants indicated they were close enough to retirement that they would
not consider a change in employment at this time.
The most common comments were that their athletic director did not micromanage their
decisions, supported budgetary and scheduling decisions, and told their staff that family came
first and followed through with this directive. P7 said that her athletic director was willing to
gain more athletic training knowledge, which led to better support. P1 compared the three
athletic directors she has worked under at her current institution. Her first athletic director was a
pioneer in Title IX; she was an empowering mentor and understood the balance between athletics
and parenting. Her second athletic director supported her as a certified athletic trainer, but not as
a mother. Her current athletic director is a mother as well and is highly supportive of a family
environment. The athletic training staff at P9’s institution is outsourced from the local hospital.
Coach Support
Collegiate coaches dictate the daily schedule of the athletic trainer. All the participants
indicated that the lack of control over their schedule and making changes at the whim of the
coach was challenging. Many certified athletic trainers believed they were supported as certified
athletic trainers and specifically as certified athletic training parents. Conversely, few certified
athletic trainers indicated that they did not feel supported by the coaching staff. Specifically, the
expectations they desired for themselves were not the same for support staff members.
P8 feels lucky that most of the coaches she works with are former student-athletes of the
institution. She has known most of them as student-athletes and has a solid and long-standing
relationship with them. P1 stated that she feels the athletic department's coaching members have
well supported their staff. P4 did not feel as though she has had any negative encounters with
her coaches and believes that in many ways, she is better supported in her role because she is a
woman. P5 shared that she does not feel as though the coaches fully support her department.
Coworker Support
Support from fellow certified athletic training coworkers was noted as an essential
factor in their success as both a certified athletic trainer and as a parent. “Female ATs believed
that with the right work environment and overall support system, they were able to achieve
WLB” (Mazerolle et al., 2015). The majority of participants described their certified athletic
training peers as supportive and positively influenced their retention in the collegiate athletic
training setting. One participant believed that her head athletic trainer did not support certified
athletic training staff members and played a key role in why a certified athletic training
coworker who was a mother left her position at the institution.
P10 has had the same colleagues for 25 years. They have grown together and worked
very hard to support each other. P1, P7, and P8 reflected on the certified athletic trainers that first
hired them and the examples they displayed. All three noted that these mentors believed that
family was important and balance between work and family was vital to keeping young
professionals in athletic training. P8 added that the relationship she has with her staff has helped
her establish herself and maintain her longevity. P9 stated, “I feel like we are a giant family. My
coworkers understand life is imperfect, things come up, and we help each other the best we can”.
P11 is new to her institution and is coming from a challenging working situation.
Department Atmosphere
Department atmosphere was a contributing factor to the overall satisfaction of the
participants in this study. Half of the participants described their department as family-friendly.
This typically meant that coaches, administrators, and support staff members were comfortable
with having their children at work with them at various times. They indicated that the
department's overall environment was accepting of family interaction, as long as it did not
significantly distract from the department's overall function. Two participants stated that their
athletic department did not have a family-friendly atmosphere. One participant noted that this
was a recent change based on the new athletic administration and the philosophy cultured by
the athletic director's leadership.
ATC Parents Support
The sub-theme of support for certified athletic training parents is essential to examine
because this group of individuals often require more help in covering practices and events due to
family needs. Some of the certified athletic trainer participants believed that athletic training
parents received positive support from the department. P10 commented that the athletic training
parents on her staff receive the support that they ask for. She continued to state that those that
had spoken up and asked for help when they needed, typically received the help they asked for.
If there was no communication of need, then the expectation was that they did not need any
special support. P5 did not feel like there was support from the athletic department toward
certified athletic training parents. P2 and P9 believed certain areas within their department
supported certified athletic training parents, while other areas did not. P9 described her
immediate coworkers and most of the coaches as highly supportive. The administration was not
supportive. The department supervisors that outsourced athletic training to the university were
very supportive, but the hospital administrators were not supportive. P1 believed that the
leadership shown by the administration has helped shaped positive support throughout the
department. P7 shared that the stress of COVID has taken a toll on her athletic department.
“Everyone is a little edgy right now; with COVID, everything is unsure. But when there is a real
issue, we can definitely work things out”.
Women Supporting Women
Most of the participants in this study indicated that their athletic departments employed
few women in the ranks of administration and as head coaches. Having a solid support network
of other women may be seen as a vital component to female retention within athletics as a
whole. All eleven participants said they have strong collegial relationships with other women in
the athletic department. However, there was no strong friendship bond with women outside of
the athletic training department. P2 and P5 noted that they were the only female department head
within the athletic department.
P2 was told she needed to learn to golf if she wanted to be included in the department's
workings. Her perception was that she needed to find a way to fit into “the good old boys club”
to be taken seriously. P9 looks at the women in her department as her cheer team and the reason
she is still with the institution. P1 and P10 joked that they commiserate well with other women
in the department. P5 shared, “I wish we had more females on staff. Besides myself, the other
women are my two assistants and a handful of assistant coaches. I feel like I have a good
connection with them. We share the same mindset”.
