The Vital Role of the Athletic Trainer Charles Bower

Charles Bower is Fair Grove School’s athletic trainer who works to provide coverage and care at all sporting events (including practices) from football to soccer.

This is only Bower’s 2nd year at Fair Grove, but he has already adapted to meet this school’s unique athletic needs. Everyone who plays a sport risks injuring themselves and coming back from a severe injury is no small feat. Bower is the reason many student athletes have returned to their beloved sports. 

“During the season, I see Charles almost everyday. He goes to all of the baseball games and practices and I don’t think he has missed a single one,” stated Ayden Teaster (10), a baseball player who has known Bower since last season.

Bower is always there and ready for emergencies. He had to go through rigorous training to obtain his degree which included four years of college and a year long internship. 

Mr. Bower describes his job as, “Providing basic event coverage for games & practices, advising parents if needed for athlete to be taken to the doctor for evaluation, initiate rehabilitation for minor sport injuries, and identifying ways to prevent injuries from happening through taping & stretching/strengthening.” A large part of medicine is preventative care. For an athletic trainer stressing the importance of ways to prevent injuries is a vital part of their job.

An athlete must take care of their bodies to achieve peak performance in their sport. Bower said, “The best advice I can give to any athlete is to take care of yourself nutritionally as this definitely prevents a lot of common sickness/illness aside from athletic injuries.”

Bower sees similar injuries across different sports. The most common is an ankle sprain. However, he notes that concussions are becoming prevalent in every sport at every level. He enjoys his job thoroughly because he gets to work with all the athletes, parents, coaches, and administrators. 

He voiced that, “Being able to take someone from not being able to participate to being able to return to full activity,” is one of his favorite parts of being an athletic trainer. He has helped many athletes make a full recovery. 

“The best thing about Charles is his persistence. He stays for all sport events no matter what. Even in pouring rain or extremely hot and dry days, you will always see Charles,” Teaster elaborated.

Fair Grove has seen its share of gruesome incidents during games, which is why Charles’s job is so important. Student athletes can play to their full extent and know they’re in good hands when emergencies arise.