News-Herald Senior Bowl: Cleveland Clinic Sports medicine provides expert service for this week's game
Jun. 12—Players participating in this year's News-Herald Senior Bowl, presented by Hooley House, will be getting professional treatment in terms of sports medicine.
Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine has joined the Senior Bowl team this year, and is providing athletic training services for each practice this week as well as on game night.
Multiple athletic trainers will be on hand for practices, with Coach Rossi Santo's white-uniformed team practicing from 5 to 7 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday, and Coach Mick Mohner's blue-clad team practicing from 7 to 9 p.m. All practices are at Mayfield's Wildcat Stadium, with game time set for 6 p.m. on Friday, June 17.
"We are very happy and excited to be part of this," said Heather Fisher, head athletic trainer at Mayfield and a staff athletic trainer for Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine. "Any time the Clinic has the availability to offer up the knowledge and expertise from its athletic training staff and the team physicians we have, it's a great opportunity for kids, teams and the community in general."
Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine is providing its services all week free of monetary charge. Regional coordinator Bob Collins, who doubles as the head athletic trainer at Shaker Heights, said such opportunities are valued by him, his staff and the organization.
"We do sports," he said. "We relish this. We are in tune with the high school scene. If you don't take care of them on the high school level, athletes won't be ready for the college level.
"We enjoy being the medical providers for everything from the high school to the national level. What we do, we do well."
Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine provides athletic training services to more than 50 Cleveland-area high schools, as well as Cleveland State, Notre Dame College, Baldwin Wallace, John Carroll and Tri-C.
"Dr. John Bergfeld started the sports medicine program in Cleveland over 50 years ago," Collins said. "He's the catalyst for Northeastern Ohio sports medicine. We've been expanding and going from there."
Specifically for this week's Senior Bowl preparation and game-day festivities, the Clinic's athletic training staff will be on hand for pre-practice and pre-game taping and treatment, in-practice and in-game treatment and more.
Fisher, a 1994 Cardinal graduate, pointed out the marvelous facilities that will be in use this week at Mayfield's Wildcat Stadium, including the athletic training building directly next to the football stadium that includes training tables and ice-baths, if needed.
"The trainers and staff will have the availability of the training building," she said. "Everything we'd use for a normal football set-up. We're centrally located for the staff and athletes as well."
Being part of the Senior Bowl, she said, is special for a multitude of reasons.
"It's always a great experience," she said.
