Laura Gonzalez, Spring 2009 Assistant Managing Editor
Behind every good athlete there is an athletic trainer, and since at Pierce College there are some of the best athletic teams among community colleges in the country, there are also two of the most skilled athletic trainers.
Shari Sipka and Leonard Ramirez have been working at Pierce for two years and 18 years, respectively. Their job is to evaluate players who get injured on the field, assess them, treat them, rehabilitate them and get them back on the field as quickly as possible.
Athletic Director Bob Lofrano affirms that they have a great working relationship and that they do a good job in getting the players back on the field in no time.
“They both work well together and they help our athletes. That’s their job, to get our athletes on the field as soon as possible,” Lofrano said.
Sipka has been out of college for only six years and that is the most difficult part of the job for her. She says she still has a lot to learn.
“I’m still learning the ins and the outs, having to deal with different coaches, getting used to different personalities. I’m still in that learning process where I’ve got all the education and now I just have to put it all together,” Sipka said.
Both trainers agree one of the most challenging and heartbreaking parts of the job is to sometimes see players get injured badly enough they cannot come back to play for that season.
“The most difficult part is having kids that you start a season with and you have a bond with them and they are injured and are not able to come back,” Ramirez explained, “because let’s say they have an injury that would require surgery and they have to miss a year. That is disappointing.”
But even in times like those, they love the job. Sipka recognizes the people at Pierce are special and players are passionate about the sports they play.
“I like the personalities of the people here. The players here might not be the best athletes in the world but they still go out and play with all their hearts,” Sipka said.
For Ramirez, the Brahma experience is a little different because of all the years he has spent at the college. Pierce has become like his second family, and the years have given him the opportunity to make a lot of friends along the way.
“I have a lot of friends on campus in different academic departments, in the administration department and also the maintenance department. I think that’s the best part, making friends,” Ramirez said.
The trainers work a total of 40 hours a week each from Monday through Saturday. They also have help from students – mostly from California State University, Northridge – who want to become trainers and can get their training hours here.
“They need hours to get the certification and we can give them the hours. They come in and work under Leonard or Shari and that’s a good deal for us because it’s like having two or three more trainers,” Lofrano said.
To be an athletic trainer, students must go to college and obtain a certification from the National Trainers’ Association (NATA). NATA, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, was founded in 1950 and since then has grown to include more than 30,000 members worldwide, according to www.nata.org.
Pierce freshman strong safety Kevin Boue (8) is checked out by trainer Shari Sipka, as other trainers look on, after leaving the game due to injury late in the 4th quarter of a 38-30 home loss to Santa Barbara City College on October 25, 2008. ()