Kelsey Boulier began her career at Cabrini within the last year and has not skipped a beat. Receiving her undergrad degree right across the street at Eastern University, she is familiar with Division III sports and being an athletic trainer for these type of athletes.
“My interest in being an athletic trainer sparked when I was in high school,” Boulier said. “The high school athletic trainer was a close family friend and I always helped do evaluations and tape people.
“I knew I wanted to be in the medical field but I knew I didn’t want to be a nurse so I thought this was a perfect fit for me,” Boulier said. “I really enjoy building the relationship with the athletes and the most rewarding thing is when taking an athlete from an injury all the way to them recovering and playing on the field or court again.”
When the position opened at Cabrini, Boulier was one of the first people to be put in touch with the athletics department in order to start working at the Dixon Center.
“I remember working with Kelsey when she was completing her bachelors program and she was very easy to work with,” Rachael Flanders, athletic trainer, said. “When the job was published and open to accept applications I called her immediately I felt this would be a great fit for her.”
“She is very fun and easy to work with. We get along very well and it so far has been an easy breeze working with her,” Flanders said.
Boulier has had opportunities to work with Division I athletes in the training room and had a great experience.
“I got to see the politics when working with the Villanova football team back when I was still doing clinical training. It was a great experience but I enjoy the idea of education still being just as important as athletics,” Boulier said.
The athletic trainers usually split the athletic teams in half according to season so they both have a set schedule to do. They also alternate days so the same person is not coming in at six o’clock in the morning and the other is staying until 10 o’clock at night.
“Our schedule works great, I have never had an issue working with Kelsey,” Flanders said. “She has been here before and knows her way around here.”
When it comes to games and competition, the two trainers come in early and prepare all the waters and set themselves up at the field or the court to ensure that if an athlete gets hurt or injured that they have all the proper tools to help them.
“Every time I walk into the training room, I always see the trainers taping someone or doing some kind of therapy,” Sabrina Hackendorn, women’s basketball player, said. “If I needed anything from them I know I could count on them to be there. They both are very nice and always looking to help us athletes.”
“My all around experience so far with the athletes and working with Rachael has been great. My biggest challenge is telling an athlete that they can not play or practice for a certain amount of time, Boulier said. “I know that this keeps athletes away from coming to us but it is our job to keep them on the field or court.”
“Everyday is something new and I really enjoy covering games and watching these kids play that I have built that relationship with,” Boulier said.
