More than cuts, bruises and bumps
LHS trainers cap successful year with trip
By JEREMY HEATH Staff Writer

On a recent trip to Valley Ranch, LHS student trainer Savannah Burks struck a Tom Landry pose in front of the exhibit honoring Landry's and Tex Schramm's Hall of Fame inductions.

When Jan Brister had to miss a few weeks of work, she expected to return to chaos.

The 10-year Lampasas High School head trainer had just lost her mother and watched complications from pneumonia hospitalize her daughter for 16 days. The last thing Brister needed was a bunch of fires to put out when she returned to work.

Her student trainers made sure there were none.

"A big challenge they had this year was being on their own a lot," Brister said. "I missed a good bit of school with my mother's death and my daughter's 16- night stay at Scott & White.

"They stepped up and took care of business. I expected things to be in disarray, but when I returned everything was in order and organized. I was really proud of them for that."

This year's LHS trainers -- Laurie Robertson, Kaylynn Robertson, Ariel Owens, Dorothy Aldrich, Savannah Burks, Kassi Carroll, Miranda Fillips, Jamee Smith, Kelsie Ray, Sara Jackson, Erin Liverman, Karleigh Vann, Shelby Randolph, Shea Toms, Kelly Smith, Sheridan Gill and Alesha Waters -- did more than their share to make Brister proud.

COURTESY PHOTOS The 2007-08 LHS student trainers recently visited the Dallas Cowboys' traning facility at Valley Ranch. LHS product Britt Brown, far right, is an associate athletics trainer for the Cowboys, and he set up a tour of the facilities. Brown, who has 16 years of NFLexperience between the Miami Dolphins and Cowboys, educated the Lady Badgers about life as a bigtime trainer.

They handled their duties and responsibilities with a level of teamwork that would make some coaches jealous.

"This was a very cohesive group," Brister said. "They got along and worked together really well.

"I had several trainers with two and three years of experience, so that helped things run smoothly. I noticed they handled minor things like cuts, bruises and bumps themselves instead of calling on me. I especially have a lot of admiration for my seniors [Burks, Smith, Carroll, Aldrich, Fillips and Kaylynn Robertson] because they showed a lot of maturity this year."

LHS student trainer Shea Toms gives her best Jessica Simpson impression in front of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo's locker.

Brister rewarded the group's hard work by setting up a trip to the Metroplex to visit Six Flags and tour the Dallas Cowboys' training facilities at Valley Ranch. LHS graduate Britt Brown is an associate athletics trainer for the Cowboys and has worked in the NFLfor 16 years.

"The girls were really excited about the trip," Brister said. "I thought Six Flags would be the best part but, boy, was I wrong. They squealed like little girls opening presents at a birthday party when we went into the Cowboys locker room, and they got to get their pictures taken in front of Tony Romo and Jason Witten's lockers."

Brown helped set up and conduct the tour. He then took the time to answer their questions.

"Britt spent time taking them through a typical workday for him," Brister said. "The girls seemed impressed by how a small-town kid grew into the bigtime. They commented on how much dedication and tenacity he must have had." Brown also put the business side of training at the NFLlevel into perspective.

From left: Laurie Robertson, Jamee Smith and Savannah Burks were named LHS Student Trainers of the Year.

"They got a crash course in how NFLteams are a business and how they're run as such," Brister said. "Britt talked about players that made the team, then got hurt and got cut after he rehabilitated them. The girls thought it was wrong for him to be asked to rehab a player knowing he was going to get cut, but he responded, 'That's the business.'"

After working the sidelines at practices and games for an 0-10 football team last fall, this group of LHS trainers was well aware that high school players tend to spend more time on the table during a tough season. Brown informed them it's not just that way in high school football.

"They asked Britt about the frequency of players' visits to the training room, and he said it's the same in high school as the professional level: When you're winning and having a great season, you only treat the things that need to be treated, but when you're losing, you've got a full training room," Brister said.