Chris Kelly knows a fair bit about athletic injuries.
He studied them while earning his Degree in Kinesiology at York University in Toronto and went on to become a Sport Conditioning Coach and Certified Athletic Therapist.
The Burlington, Ont. native has analyzed and treated everything from bruises and fractures to concussions and some nasty accidents in sport.
Kelly, now 26, has also been the recipient of pain.
A very good rugby player, Kelly tore an abdominal muscle and ripped his anterior cruciate ligament. But that was in training – not game competition. As a teen, he tried to do a back flip while snowboarding. It didn't end well resulting in a broken collarbone.
But Kelly, a former multi-sport athlete in his high school days, has learned a great deal since he got hooked on athletic therapy. One thing is certain, he's passionate about athletics and people.
Kelly is George Brown's Athletic Therapy Coordinator.
His task, in a stressful job, is to make sure that student athletes, especially those competing in Varsity sport, need to keep their muscles mobile and believe in proper exercise techniques.
"Athletes can be stubborn at times and I know because I used to be one of them," said Kelly. "They need to buy in to what we do and strive to be at the best of their abilities at all times."
Kelly is not just at games waiting for accidents to happen, he's also analyzing how athletes play so that he can offer advice on avoiding injury or aggravating existing ones.
"In this (profession), there are always ups and downs," said Kelly, who once contemplated a career as a physical education teacher. "I think the biggest challenge for a therapist is trying to be all over at once – at games, practices, offering treatment and more. Just keeping a look out for everyone and their well-being. And we're always learning and adjusting."
Kelly is far from new to the job. He has worked with the Ontario Blues rugby team in the Canadian Rugby Championship and also with the Burlington Cougars in the Ontario Junior A hockey league. - DG
