Health Services: Athletic Trainer
Health Services
Athletic Trainer:
Garvin Tsuji
by Mike Yoshiura
Garvin Tsuji is a local boy who went away to college, but decided to come back home to start his career. In 1997 a law was passed mandating that each Hawaii public high school have a certified athletic trainer. Hawaii is the only state to mandate this law, which makes for better employment opportunities here, locally.
Not Such A Bad Break After All
After badly spraining an ankle in a soccer game, his senior, year Garvin Tsuji thought to himself…"Mann, I'm going to a private school, and I got no one to help me here. A coach and a friend had to carry me to a car and drive me to a hospital. I had to wear a cast for four-straight weeks!! The treatment back then was a cast, but now it's a walking boot that you can take off. I can relate to most injuries because I've been through them all," said Garvin Tsuji, as he shows off the scars on both his knees, the leftovers, from two torn ACL operations.
A Slightly Smaller Playing Field
"The field is small," says Tsuji, as he pauses to think, "There are maybe 130 people (in Hawaii) with these credentials." Garvin has a bachelor's degree in Athletic Training, which is a four-year degree, certified by the National Athletic Training Association. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 1994 after a four-year stay in Corvallis, Oregon.
Garvin initially decided to major in International Business with a minor in Japanese, which later changed after he made a life-altering decision to pursue his passion in life. "I changed my major because I didn't want to be like Dilbert! I didn't feel like sitting in a cubicle all day. Sports has been a part of my life since I was seven, and it was all I REALLY knew at the time."
Eh, U Da Kine?
Garvin is a Mililani native, but graduated high school from Hawaii Baptist Academy in 1989. When he first moved to Oregon, the other mainlanders couldn't understand his native tongue…Pidgin. After returning home for the summer, being away for a year, his parents couldn't even recognize the sound of his voice. What happened to the pidgin talking, local boy that they once knew?? About 75 percent of the students at Radford High School are military kids, and Tsuji thinks that his mainland accent helps him gain the trust and acceptance needed to properly do his job. "I can turn it off-and-on! If need be I can turn it on for the Waianae kids."
90 Seconds
Athletes are always working against a clock…The same can be said for an Athletic Trainer, who has a brief 90 seconds to decide whether an injured wrestler can continue to compete or not. "It's tough because the athlete wants to continue, but if he or she does they could possibly miss more significant time. At Radford the coaches know that we're looking out for the best interest of the players." Tsuji must always stay on his toes, and constantly be prepared for anything to happen.
The First To Act
"When someone gets hurt my first thought is…How did this happen?? Were they hit?? Especially in football, if you know how the injury happened you can narrow it down a little bit. We're all so fortunate to have team physicians on the sidelines in case of catastrophic injury. They really take charge of a situation." It's never easy for an athlete to come to grasps with an injury, but knowing that you have the best trainers and doctors on the sidelines helps to add reassurance to those leaving it all on the field.
The Sixth Man
Garvin is in his ninth year as Head Athletic Trainer at Radford High School, and he thoroughly enjoys the increased comfort level he feels while at work. "I'm in my comfort zone because I can understand the rules. I couldn't think of a better job than to be able to watch sports all the time." Sometimes he has to be at the same place at the same time, and that's where the coverage guidelines come into play. The coverage guidelines are pretty simple, the sports with the highest injuries like; football, wrestling and soccer, all have first priority. Depending on the time of year, Tsuji may end up juggling up to five different sports per season. "I feel like an extension of the team because I'm with them daily."
A Little Bit of Advice
If you really enjoy doing something, whatever that may be, pursue it! Don't even give up hope because you don't want any regrets in life."
By attaining an Athletic Trainer's Certificate (ATC), a career may include; high schools, colleges or even professional sports leagues like: the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB.