Page 54 March 2012 A RC A DI A SPORTS PAGE A RC A DI A SPORTS PAGE Seniors Brendan Satran (above) and Andrew Naderer lead Arcadia High’s high baseball expectations. Titans look to experience as baseball season begins Protecting, curing athletes go hand in hand for trainer By Nathan Humpherys Sometimes the hardest part of Jason Erickson’s job is protecting athletes from themselves. As Arcadia High School’s athletic trainer, Erickson has to evaluate and treat injuries right after they happen and decide if player can return to the game. “The desire to play is obviously really strong in a passionate athlete,” Erickson said. “When they want to play, they don’t care what happened. Whether it be a concussion, a broken bone, or an ACL injury, they all want to go back out there and play. “Pulling them is one of the hardest things to do as an athletic trainer. Seeing the look on their face when you say, ‘I’m sorry, you can’t go back in,’ it’s hard to take because you know they have that desire and passion to do it, but there have been many instances where I have had to do that.” Whether or not Erickson sends a player back in depends on if it is safe for the athlete to continue playing, and if he thinks a player can deal with playing through the pain. While Erickson might send a player back in after taping up a sprained ankle if he thinks the athlete will be able to deal with the pain, he immediately pulls players who have ACL injuries or concussions because of the risks of long-term damage. It can be dif fi cult to gauge the extent of the injury from the reaction of the athlete. Some high school players will have dramatic reactions to relatively minor injuries while others won’t really respond to a major injury. “Being in high school, everything is a little bit more extreme,” Erickson said. “Not the injury, per say, but the reaction to the injury, because they’re at a level where all this is kind of new to them. “Because they don’t know how to handle it or respond to it because it’s never happened, it’s always an extreme reaction.” Erickson makes sure he spends time observing his athletes so he can better interpret their reactions to injuries. It also helps him know when an athlete might be trying to hide an injury. “I have to know my athletes,” Erickson said. “Knowing who your athletes are and how they act will determine a lot as to whether you know something is wrong or not.” Though his job centers around evaluating and treating physical injuries, he also has to deal with the mental and emotional states of his athletes after injury and during recovery. Continued on page 56 By Wayne Schutsky The 2012 Arcadia High School baseball team is counting on a slew of experienced players to build upon last year’s up-and- down season. “We have a senior-laden team this year,” said coach Ken Rudolph. “Everything looks good on paper, so we will see how it plays out.” The Titans will use a roster entirely made up of juniors and seniors this season. With 12 returning members of last year’s squad, the team will rely on experience and a few additions as it works to get over the hump. “When we try and project what they can do, it looks like they will all have great years,” said Rudolph. In 2011, the team fi nished with a 20-10 overall record but fell to Liberty 2-1 in the fi rst round of the 4A-II playoffs. The tough loss ended a successful but ultimately disappointing season in which the Titans failed to show consistency. The team scored runs in droves at times and then would hit dry patches. It also struggled in the fi eld on occasion, showing short lapses in judgment. Experience is supposed to help avoid inconsistencies on offense and defense. On offense, Arcadia will rely heavily on junior Max Schuman and senior Brendan Satran. Both players have played on the varsity squad since they were freshmen. Schuman will hit second or third in the order and provide power and a professional approach to hitting for the Titans, said Rudolph. While he will split time at a few positions on defense, Schuman will most affect the Titans’ fortunes with his bat. During an early season practice, the lefty consistently hit the ball with authority and drove one ball over the wall in right fi eld. Satran is sure to help Schuman stack up the RBI this season. The Titan leadoff batter hits for average and has shown the ability to drive the ball deep on occasion. Continued on page 56

Colby is a fourth grader at Hopi Elementary School. Col- by won the PF Changs Kids Rock Mile Run for the 9 year old age category this past Jan- uary. He was motivated to run after watching his mom train for the full marathon. He has also been a standout player on his soccer team and on his fl ag football team as well. He loves to play baseball and collect baseball cards. He wants to go to the University of Arizona and play baseball, football and soccer while he’s there. Our hats are off to Colby, the winner of a $100 gift certi fi cate to Arcadia Sports & Fitness. And a BIG THANKS to Scott Ledyard for nominating Colby! Do you know an Arcadia athlete who deserves to be recognized by the community? Fill out a Nomination Form at Arcadia Sports & Fitness or www.arcadiadaily.com/athlete.pdf, or drop us a line at athlete@arcadianews.com. HURRY! WE WILL BE CHOOSING ANOTHER WINNER ON MARCH 15TH! Congratulations Colby Musselmann! l of the of the