Stephanie Nagel’s idea of a wonderful job is one that includes watching sports ? having stepped into the head athletic trainer role at Clarkston High School she is in the right place.
‘You can’t really ask for better coaches or kids or parents,? Nagel said.
Nagel replaced Christopher Bradley about a month ago when he moved on from the CHS trainer position. Previously, she served as trainer at Clarkston Junior High School.
‘There’s a lot more going on at the high school,? Nagel said. ‘The amount of athletes and competition level is completely different.?
Originally hailing from Bad Ax, Nagel attended Michigan Tech before transferring to Saginaw Valley State University. She finished work on a bachelor of science in May 2005.
‘I had a lot of opportunity to work with teams on my own,? said Nagel of her experience at Saginaw Valley State.
Having settled into her new role, Nagel plans on continuing the progress report system started by her predecessor and wants to expand on flexibility training.
‘You always want to have a stamp of yourself on anything you do,? Nagel said.
Apart from her technical expertise, Nagel hopes to inject a bit of healing laughter into the training room. She hopes her sense of humor will help athlete’s see a bright end to the healing road.
‘I want to help them step back and realize that (an injury) is not the end of the world,? Nagel said.
Though she spends the bulk of her time in and around Clarkston High School athletics, Nagel is employed jointly by the school district and Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital. This arrangement ensures a trainer from POH is present at Clarkston athletic events when Nagel is unable to be ? like when Nagel is tending to a home game and a Clarkston team also plays on the road.