By CORY MULL
Evening Sun Sports Writer
Andrew Myers and athletic training just kind of happened in college.
And that's kind of odd, Myers said, because he never spent any prolonged period in the training room at South Western High School when he was playing tennis for the Mustangs.
His friends told him stories about being in the training room. They told him about how they got their ankles wrapped or how they got their legs bandaged or how they got to lie on that soft training table that was so comfortable.
But Myers never had any firsthand knowledge of that. He never got injured. He never had to have his ankle wrapped.
"I watch a lot of sports and I saw people on TV that did it," he said of athletic trainers. "I played sports in high school and I knew I wasn't going to continue that in college. I saw it as a way to be around sports and athletes. I wanted to work with the medical field and I thought that was a cool link betwene the athletics field and medicine."
Myers, who will be a senior at West Chester in the fall, was interested enough in that link to go through an arduous admissions process at West Chester - incoming students must have Scholastic Aptitude Test scores around 1,070 and must be ranked in the top 20 percent of their classes. Sports medicine candidates also have to go through a lengthy interview with West Chester officials before admission.
"I liked it, then I went right into it freshman year in college and then it worked out," he said.
"Worked out" is
understating it. Myers has maintained a 3.9 grade-point average through his junior year and was just awarded a $1,000 academic scholarship for his senior year.
This led to an internship with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota Calling
It's not that he's going to be in over his head in Minnesota, but working with professional football players for the first time in his life might be a bit of a culture shock.
"I'm really nervous now," said Myers, who will leave for Minnesota on July 19 and will report to Minnesota State University, Mankato, the site for the Vikings' preseason training camp.
He said, "I'm more nervous than excited. I think, once I get out there, it'll be all right, but, like I said, I never thought I'd never be able to work with anything that big, especially professional football."
It's one thing to idolize your favorite players from afar. You might get to see them on television or, if you're privileged enough, you might be able to see them at a game.
But having the opportunity to tape one of their ankles? Having a conversation with one of them? To be considered a part of the team?
That's special.
Myers, who says he's a Baltimore Ravens fan, will get to work with Adrian Peterson, a Pro Bowl selection last year and one of the most talented running backs in the NFL and Tarvaris Jackson, the Vikings' No. 1 quarterback and a fast rising talent.
Myers said he's not picky about his allegiance.
"I had some aspirations and got a break one day and got a chance to work the (Chicago) Bears summer camp, just like Andrew," said Eric Sugarman, the Vikings' head athletic trainer and the person who ultimately hired Myers. "I went four summers in a row and then got hired full time."
"The first ankle I ever taped was the Fridge," Sugarman, a West Chester alumnus, said, referring to defensive William "Refrigerator" Perry. "He hopped up on my table and I was like, 'That's the Fridge'. But they're no different than anyone else. They put on their pants on one leg at a time. He's (Myers) going to stand around one day and say, 'Wow, this is the national football League.'"
Myers isn't sure what specific responsibilities he's going to be asked to do during his six-week stay in Minnesota, but he's confident that it won't be anything he won't be ready for.
"To be honest, I'm kind of nervous and not sure what exactly is going to be going on, but there was nothing they said that I wouldn't be prepared to do," Myers said.
The Vikings weren't the first NFL organization Myers applied to. He also sent his resume and recommendations to the Kansas City Chiefs.
But the Vikings were quick in their response and Myers jumped at the opportunity. What helped get him into the door, he said, was the connection Sugarman had with West Chester.
Sugarman graduated from the school before obtaining his master's degree from Richmond University. Shortly after he graduated from Richmond, Sugarman worked at West Chester in 1994-95 as an athletic trainer and an instructor. There, he developed friendships with teachers that he says he still keeps in contact with regularly.
Before his interview with Myers over the phone, Sugarman said he talked to Myers' instructors, one of which who was Dr. Neil Curtis, associate professor of medicine at West Chester.
Curtis had nothing but good things to say about Myers.
"He's very smart. He's intelligent and he's a hard worker," Curtis said.
"I was qualified, but so many people applied and it helped to know that he (Sugarman) had my teachers and they knew him," said Myers, who was one student out of five who were awarded an internship with the Vikings.
During his stay in Minnesota, Myers will live in the Minnesota State University, Mankato dormitories with the players, coaches and interns before they head back to the Vikings' training facility after training camp. Myers will work with the team until its final preseason game on Aug. 28.
Myers believes the experience he will accumulate with the Vikings will be a first step. After obtaining his bachelor's degree at West Chester, Myers wants to move to graduate school. down the road, he wants to work at a college and teach.
"I definitely think seeing that at the professional level is going to solidify what I want to do," Myers said. "I've worked with college level and I'm going to be working at the high school level in the fall (at West Chester area schools). I think working at the pro level is definitely going to help me solidify what I want to do after school."
"I think I want to be a college professor, too, because all my teachers are professors and they work with the teams after practices." said Myers, a modest personality at heart.
"I could see myself doing that."
