Whether it is in the classroom or on the sidelines, it is hard to miss Sedona athletic trainer and sports medicine teacher Andrea Bagnall while on campus.

When she is not educating Sedona students, she is making sure they are in top physical condition to perform.

What inspired you to become a sports trainer?
I was playing basketball
at the University of Tennessee but the girl ahead of me was Lea Henry who won an Olympic gold medal and was a two time All-American player. Pat Summit was coaching at the time and she asked if I wanted a role on her team as the athletic trainer. She was a great lady and role model so that job was awesome.

What did you learn from Pat Summit?
I learned perseverance from her. She treated everybody
equally no matter who they were. She was not intimidated by anybody. It was Pat’s way or the highway, and you did not mess with Pat. You knew that if you went to Tennessee and listened to Pat that you would win a title and reach your potential. My potential would have been different than Henry’s potential but she told us how good we could be through perseverance.
She taught me how to work to achieve my goals.

Can you talk about some of your class assignments?
I try to make sure we go over anatomy first before discussing anything else. After learning the anatomy, we go through the evaluation
and then the rehab. We put our hands on things, and then we tape it, evaluate it, and palpate it. Right now we are studying the shoulder and have been for a week and a half.

Why do you think your class is so popular among the students?
I think it is popular because everyone can relate to it. I try to make it interesting
because one day you will be a parent or a coach and you will use these skills. You can be on the beach and someone will rupture their spleen and need medical attention. You never know when you will need these skills in life so it is important to learn them.

Are certain injuries more common to one gender than the other?
Yes, very much so. Knee injuries are 80 percent more common in girls because they are genetically predisposed.
They have wider hips so it predisposes the ACL [anterior cruciate ligament]
and puts extra stress on the knee when turning or landing. If girls tear one, they are just as likely to tear the other.

What is your routine as a trainer to make sure every athlete gets tended to?

I teach my two classes and then I hit the athletic training room after school. From 3:15 to 4 p.m., I am getting every athlete ready for practice that needs tape or is rehabbing. Once my rehab kids are finished, I hit the football field for their practice. Football is a contact sport so I have to be around once they start their contact drills. I am mostly with the contact sports but everyday I check in with every coach beforehand. I tell them what the injury is, what is coming up and what to expect.

What are your words to live by?
When in doubt, sit them out. I have learned that injuries outlast the glory. You can put a kid back in but you do not want a lifelong injury. If I have any doubt in my mind, I will not let them back in. Almost no high school athletes play professional sports so it is not worth the risk. Especially for concussion injuries, I never put someone back in that has gotten their bell rung.

How do you know when someone is concussed?
We do a lot of testing. We ask them questions and then evaluate their symptoms.
We then do a balance orientation and finish with a memory assessment. If they do not pass, then they do not go back into the game. I also created my own test called the Bagnall Shake and I developed it to check the vestibular-cochlear function
in a concussed athlete. The cochlea is the inner part of an ear that is used for hearing.