“The more educated in health literacy people can be, the better” shares Ashley Nance, a health sciences teacher at our school. Ashley Nance teaches three different classes in hopes of helping students gain confidence in physical health. Whether that be them going into the medical field as a career, or just getting educated to know when a good time to ask for help is. Similarly to Nance, Ryan Hooke is one of the athletic trainers at CT. He helps student-athletes stay on top of their game and take care of their bodies. Nance and Hooke share their inspirations and motivations for helping students be the best they can be.
What inspired Hooke to become an athletic trainer, specifically for student-athletes, is that when he was in high school, he, himself, got injured playing basketball. Hooke shares,
“I spent a lot of time with my athletic trainer, [that] kind of propelled me to want to do this every day”. Hooke’s main motivation in his job is making sure kids get back to the field, back to their sport as healthy and ready to go as possible. What he looks most forward to is building relationships with people. More often than not, the room is filled with students just hanging out and relaxing. Some kids come to the training room to get work from their classes done, and some seek that help when their bodies aren’t at the best of their abilities. Hooke elaborates “building those relationships with athletes and understanding that it’s a safe place for them to come and they can tell us about their injuries or if it’s something else they need help with. I think that’s the most valuable part of my job”.
Nance on the other hand shares that her inspiration for teaching health sciences is “getting teenagers… to know more about their bodies and simple health facts that we can learn from and use the rest of our lives,” said Nance. She shares her two main motivations for teaching health at CT. “One is that I want kids to learn more if they want to go into the medical field… The second one is I really again just want kids and even teachers, everyone to know more about the human body because that’s what we have…just simple things that kids are almost afraid to talk about and making it almost normal so they are comfortable getting the help they need,” said Nance.
When it comes to helping students and athletes get connected to the help they need and deserve, Nance and Hooke have a similar approach. Hooke is contracted through UC Health. He has a direct connection with the team doctors and the physical therapy clinics. Hooke continues “If we ever have an injury here that we’re in question of…I can contact them directly and get someone in there quicker than usually their own doctor”. This helps athletes recover quickly so they can get back to their sport as soon as they can. Nance shares that
“Students know me and they are comfortable but being like that trusted adult just with mental health and things like that…and knowledge of knowing more,” said Hooke.
One thing Nance and Hooke no doubt agree on is the daily healthy habits that students can practice. “I think everybody needs to drink more water,” Hooke exclaims. “99% of all athletes don’t drink enough water”. In addition to drinking water, he bets that stretching every day, eating balanced meals, and getting eight hours of sleep will result in “90% of your problems will go away”. Nance’s list contains brushing your teeth, getting thirty minutes of physical activity, whether it be “walking, yoga, playing a sport, it doesn’t have to be intense but move your body”, taking time for yourself (self-care), and taking showers.
When it comes to physical health, Nance and Hooke take their jobs seriously. Inspiring students every day to push for what’s good for your body and what’s not.
