Photo By Sgt. Kyle Yoder | Staff Sgt. Jennifer Simmonds, a healthcare specialist assigned to Carl R. Darnall Army...... read more read more
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Oklahoma City, OK. - The All-Army men’s softball team holds their hands to their chests as the opening national anthem plays throughout the stadium before the 2024 Armed Forces Softball Tournament. Standing with the team is a member that won't be hitting the field, but will be helping the U.S. Army to win the entire tournament, the team’s athletic trainer Staff Sgt. Jennifer Simmonds, a healthcare specialist (68W) assigned to Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center (CRDAMC).
Simmonds joined the U.S. Army when she was 29 years old. “I was making a lot of money being a waitress in the Virgin Islands,” said Simmonds, “but I wanted financial stability for me and my kids that I just couldn't get.” Her brother-in-law happened to be the island's U.S. Army recruiter and they decided that while she was qualified for almost any enlisted job, being a 68W, healthcare specialist was the right fit for her.
Once she joined, stationed at Camp Casey, South Korea, she saw that the U.S. Army had station-wide sports leagues and decided to go back to playing first base in the sport she had been playing her whole life, softball. She made it on the roster for the All-Army women's softball team for the 2018-2019 season.
“The softball world is small.” says Simmonds “Soon I became pretty well known in that world.” Which is how she got selected as the 2024 All-Army men’s softball team athletic trainer. “One of the All-Army men’s softball coaches saw me coaching the CRDAMC softball team, " says Simmonds. “He saw how I interacted with my team, knew I was a 68W, and asked me to be their trainer.”
All-Army sports teams use healthcare specialists as their athletic trainers because of their knowledge and experience with treating all kinds of injuries in the military and how that easily carries over into athletic sports care.
“When a team goes to a tournament, they are out there playing for 12 hours a day. Leg injuries, shoulder injuries, heat exhaustion, these are not uncommon.” says Simmonds “It's a hot day and a player seems more tired than he should, another player winces when he throws, another limps slightly when he walks. I always notice.”
The athletic trainer’s goal isn't to keep their players on the bench, but to mitigate their injuries so that they can keep playing without anything getting worse. “A lot of things that happen to them I was specifically trained to treat and have seen a ton of at my job.” says Simmonds, “Some things I went out of my way to learn myself so that I could better take care of them.” Sports taping for multiple types of injury prevention, sports specific strength and conditioning and proper stretching before play are all things that fall under an athletic trainer’s job description to take care of their players.
“It means everything for me to be a part of this team.” says Simmonds, “I am passionate about my job and I have always been passionate about softball and while I now leave playing to the soldiers in their twenties, being the All-Army softball team’s athletic trainer is a perfect fit for me.”
| Date Taken: | 09.19.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.20.2024 16:08 |
| Story ID: | 481280 |
| Location: | FORT CAVAZOS, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | ST. CROIX, VI |
| Web Views: | 25 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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