A sports medicine class made its debut this semester, offering students an inside look at various aspects of sports medicine. The class, officially named “care of athletes” by the state, is taught by THS athletic trainer Mark Padfield, who is beginning his ninth year in Tonganoxie.

“They approached me about it knowing I was interested in doing it, so there was mutual interest expressed,” said Padfield, who has also taught in the district since 2007. “We had all the textbooks already, so there was no financial outlay.”

Padfield earned his bachelor’s degree in English education from Kansas State University in 1998, then became a certified athletic trainer while at grad school at Emporia State. He earned his master’s in health, physical education and recreation in 2003.

He taught a class similar to this one about five years ago, but that class was solely focused on athletic training. The new class will branch out into other related fields. Students got a brief overview of different professions in the first week of the semester.

Throughout the semester, they’ll also spend time outside the classroom, where they’ll experience the hands-on aspects of the field, such as taping and stretching.

“I hated sitting in my seat when I was in school,” Padfield said. “I feel like people learn when they’re out of their comfort zone and forced to apply what they’ve learned, and this is a perfect venue to do that.”

There are less than 10 students in the class this semester, but Padfield said several others plan to take it in the spring. He’s had students assist him with athletic training duties for several years, and he hopes the class will allow him to place more students with specific teams throughout the year.

“They’ve made my life so much easier, so I want to kind of grow on that and spread the love to the coaches as well,” he said.

Padfield has received state and national recognition during his time as a trainer at THS. He is currently the president-elect of the Kansas Athletic Trainers Society and will begin a three-year term as the president on Jan. 1. Additionally, in 2011, he was named the Gatorade Secondary Athletic Trainer of the Year for district five, which includes seven states.