UCA PROFILE 
David Strickland, UCA Head Athletic Trainer

David Strickland, UCA Head Athletic Trainer, spent two weeks in May at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs helping Olympic athletes and hopefuls prepare for competition.

"It was an exciting experience because of the higher caliber of athletes I was able to work with," Strickland said (picture left). "These athletes are there to work and make the team, their dedication is unbelievable. They are doing two-a-days and going from one tournament to another. It was nice to be around that attitude."

Strickland said he found out about the opportunity to work at the training center from a colleague. He put in his application four years ago and was contacted this summer to participate. "Before you can work in the Olympics you have to work in this training camp," Strickland said. "Once you've done this you just wait and hope you get called back to work at the world games. It's definitely a waiting process."

Strickland's primary purpose at the camp was care, prevention, and rehabilitation of athletic injuries. "An awe-inspiring moment for me occurred after I had been working in the training room with these athletes," Strickland said. "I went to the visitor's center just to look around and on the wall I see all these pictures of athletes I've been working with this entire time with all their medals and accomplishments listed. I just thought these really are Olympic athletes."

Olympic athletes do not normally get the recognition of professional athletes even though their achievements are no less outstanding. "There are a lot of Olympic athletes out there that have accomplished some amazing things that never get a whole lot of recognition," he said.

The athletes at the USOTC are residents. They live at the facility and spend all their time concentrating and preparing for competition. "Some of the residents are already on the team and are just trying to keep their spot while others are hoping to become a part of the team," he said. "It is highly competitive. Their life is their sport."

Strickland primarily worked with athletes involved in tae-kwon-do, wrestling, and weightlifting. "It was neat getting to work in sports that I don't normally get to spend a lot of time in," he said. "I really enjoyed working with tae-kwon-do, although wrestling is the sport I would prefer to work in."

Working intensely with the athletes, helped Strickland to develop close relationships with the other coaches and athletes in just two weeks. "Meeting those people and being around those coaches was a wonderful experience," he said. "I was offered the opportunity to go to Vietnam with the tae-kwon-do head coach, but I was not able. However, it was nice being offered the chance."

Strickland is also very involved in the athletic training program here at UCA. They are currently working to get the program accredited. He is also president-elect of the Arkansas Athletic Trainers Association, which holds its state meetings at UCA. Currently Strickland does not have any specific plans to work with the US Olympics unless the opportunity arises. He said his plate is full right now. "I'm just trying to get through football season right now," Strickland said. "We (AATA) are also trying to get more certified athletic trainers in high schools."

Written by Lisa Frein, Office of Communications