Sydney, a senior athletic training major in Merrimack’s three-plus-two program, recently completed her clinical rotation at Tewksbury Memorial High School.
The rotation took place during the fall 2025 semester when Sydney was on-site three to four days a week for a total of 166 hours.
During this clinical experience, Sydney assisted the Athletic Trainer at Tewksbury with daily responsibilities in the athletic training room, including conducting evaluations, taping athletes, supporting emergency management, and developing rehabilitation programs.
Sydney refined her ability to build trust and professional relationships with athletes, strengthened her evaluation skills and clinical understanding and gained greater confidence in her decision-making. She shared that she learned how to adapt to different situations and develop flexible plans based on the varying budgets of high schools. Sydney mentioned that she learned who the students were as athletes and how she, as an athletic trainer, was a resource and had to learn to take situations outside the textbook.
When asked what her best experience was during this clinical rotation was getting to go to Gillette for the football state championships. Sydney said, “It was super rewarding to see athletes grow and know we made a difference as athletic trainers.” Sydney also reflected on a long rehabilitation process with one student, emphasizing how meaningful it was to witness their growth both mentally and physically.
Now that Sydney’s clinical rotation has ended at Tewksbury, she has started her next clinical rotation at Merrimack College with a primary focus on women’s basketball and lacrosse. Sydney credits her learning to the amazing athletic training program at Merrimack.
When asked what advice Sydney had for underclassmen, she said, “Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and fail, because that is what you learn from.” Sydney noted that every opportunity is an experience to learn. As Sydney works to complete her 200-hour rotation at Merrimack, she will continue to learn and grow from every experience.
After completing this clinical rotation, she will begin her full immersion as an athletic training student at a university, followed by one final clinical rotation before graduating with her master’s degree in athletic training in Spring 2027.
