Meet the Trainer: Dennis Goebel
“Two weeks out of college, I got my first job. Right afterward, I immediately enrolled in a master’s program in sports medicine and have been in this field since.”
Dennis Goebel, known to many as the College of the Sequoias Head Athletic Trainer, will be retiring soon. With his retirement, also comes the closing to a chapter for him.
“I have been at COS for 35 years, but I have been a Head Athletic Trainer for 42 years,” said Goebel.
Carrying out the work as an athletic trainer is no easy job, especially being the head athletic trainer for the sports medicine department like Goebel. Prevention, care, and rehabilitation for injuries that athletes may get are all parts that fall into the line of work for athletic trainers.
Should a student-athlete sustain an injury, then it would be the evaluation process of how severe the injury is. Athletic trainers can determine whether or not the injury can be treated at COS, or if the injury is severe and requires surgery. If the injury requires surgery, the athletic trainers would be working alongside a physical therapist to help rehabilitate the injured student. Along with physical health, athletic trainers also take into consideration the student athlete’s nutritional needs, environmental needs, and especially mental needs.
Choosing a career to pursue within the field of sports medicine is not simple though. Most careers in the general fields require a master’s degree and some even require further certification before you can become a certified athletic trainer.
“The educational track has changed tremendously,” Goebel said, “When I started my athletic training, I majored in physical education, with an emphasis in athletic training.”
Goebel stated that an accident that happened is what inspired him to work in the field of sports medicine, “I remember how it happened, I was being pulled behind a bike on a skateboard and we went around a curb really fast. I hit a rock, fell back, and fractured my skull. The doctors would not release me to play sports, but through a whole bunch of nice people and connections, I ended up at USC’s football camp. At that football camp, a gentleman there taught me how to tape an ankle. It lit a fire and I’ve been doing it ever since!”
