This year, Jesuit was lucky to have two new trainers from Pacific University, Nick Paul and Arianna (Ari) Valenzuela join the Jesuit community. As part of their studies, they came to Jesuit to learn from trainer Bryce Gillespie, the school’s Certified Athletic Trainer, and to gain experience in the world of sports training.
“When you have 400 people coming to practice every day and everyone needing some sort of eval, they were super convenient to have around and help,” said Gillespie. .
Nick and Ari have been dedicated to their roles, attending every fall sports game and spending almost every afternoon after school helping athletes get taped and ready for practice.
“They’re solid people,” said Mr. Hernandez. “It gives [athletics] an extra set of eyes especially when Bryce gets called away for serious injuries.”
Beyond their hard work, they quickly became favorites among the athletes for their cool and fun personalities.
“They always brought life to the training room and made it fun to come to practice everyday,” said senior football player Dominic Locoti.
They brought a positive energy not only to the training room but the sidelines as well, making practices and games even more enjoyable for everyone. From hyping up the athletes before a game, to having long talks about an injury, they did it all.
“Having Nick and Ari here was awesome,” Carson Galbraith said. “They were always there to help whenever I needed and would always get me ready for practice and games… both physically and mentally.”
Freshman Dulcie Cleeland specifically recalled how “Ari would always make the best cookies” for some of the players in the training room. Having these two around truly brought together a sense of community within the training department.
Now, their time at Jesuit is over, and they have returned to Pacific University to finish their studies. When asked if Jesuit will ever receive more shadow trainers, Bryce mentioned some coming soon in early to mid spring. Even though Nick and Ari’s stay was short, the positive impact they had on the athletes and sports programs will not be forgotten.
