They are the people on the court making sure LeBron James can hit that last-second shot, in the dugout so Alex Rodriguez can hit his 500th home run and on the field so Jonny Harline can make "the catch."

"If you ever watch a sporting event and you see someone get injured and then you see somebody run on the field to take care of them, that is an athletic trainer," said Jeremy Hawkins, the athletic training clinical education coordinator. "We are right down there on the sidelines intimately involved. We have the best seat in the house."

While some people think that is all athletic trainers do, they really do so much more.

"Athletic trainers take care of athletes in terms of strength and nutrition, training, injury management, prevention and rehab," said Ty Hopkins, athletic training program director.

There are over 60 students in BYU's athletic training major. It is a major that involves health, human performance, sports and medicine.

"A lot of our students are former athletes either in high school or college that are looking for something that allows them to stay involved in sports," Hawkins said.

In the major, students are required to be involved with a different sport assignment every semester.

"Every semester that our students are in the major they are required to be active in an assignment," Hawkins said. "Whether it be with the football team, the women's soccer team or at local high schools, they have to fulfill an assignment."

While several alumni of the major are scattered throughout high school and collegiate athletics, and even some in Major League Baseball, the majority move on to pursue graduate degrees in other health related fields.

"The majority of our students use their degree to go on to medical school, PA school or PT school," Hawkins said.

Carly Chambers, a senior in the program, said she became interested in the field of athletic training when she was a sophomore in high school.

"It was then that I decided I wanted to watch a baseball game every day for the rest of my life," Chambers said.

Chambers is looking at continuing on after graduation and pursuing a master's degree within the field. She said she hopes to one day work for a major league baseball team or a collegiate baseball team.

"This is the perfect health profession for diehard sports fans," Chambers said.

Copyright Brigham Young University 3 Oct 2007