VALDOSTA, Ga. – Colton Bowser, an assistant athletic trainer for Valdosta State athletics, knew he wanted to be an athletic trainer since the eighth grade. He said he remembers the mock job interview for class he did about a future profession he was interested in and chose to interview for an athletic trainer position. He explained from there on, he took classes and looked up colleges that had an athletic training program.
 
March marks National Athletic Training Month, to spread awareness about the important work of athletic trainers behind the scenes for athletic programs across the country. 
 
"My hometown is very small with around 1,000 people," Bowser said on growing up in Ogden, Ill. "A lot of my family lives there so there were always family dinners at my grandmas once a week growing up. I was also always at a friend's house or playing sports growing up." 
 
Outside of athletic training, Bowser said he enjoys keeping up with athletics most of his day, whether it's VSU or other sports programs on television. He said he enjoys watching the University of Illinois teams play, as well as the St. Louis Cardinals. He also enjoys playing golf whenever his schedule permits. 
 
Bowser attended Illinois State University and received his Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training and then received a master's degree in kinesiology at the University of North Georgia. In addition to his athletic training certification, he is CPR certified and is looking to get other certifications in dry needling and strength and conditioning. 
 
"The best part about being an athletic trainer is experiencing all of the feel-good moments," Bowser said. "For example, when you've watched someone at their lowest build themselves back up to be able to compete at one of the highest levels possible and score a basket or win an award is super rewarding to me."
 
Bowser said his favorite injuries to treat are most lower extremity rehabs, specifically ankle and knee injuries because it requires the AT to start rehab from the very beginning and helping the athlete rebuild strength and range of motion and, in most cases, it requires the athlete to relearn how to walk and run. 
 
"On the other hand, watching the injuries happen is probably one of my least favorite parts of the job," Bowser said. "It is very important to see the injury occur for the job, but it is normally a very emotional experience for the athlete. One of the hardest things to do as an athletic trainer is evaluating an injury while that athlete is fatigued, scared, and hesitant. In the game, you must be mindful that the athlete needs time to calm down and accept that you are trying to help them out." 
 
Bowser explains his day-to-day depends on whether he is working with VSU's golf team or women's soccer. 
 
"My normal day usually consists of having treatment times during the day for my teams up until it is practice time," Bowser said.  "In-season games for soccer are Friday and Sunday, when we have away games, we normally have travel days Thursday-Sunday. Off-season soccer days are pretty much the exact same as in-season, the biggest difference is we occasionally have a game on a Saturday and away games are only a day trip. I do not travel with golf, but I go to any of their outings hosted at Kinderlou."
 
Bowser explains that one of his biggest goals at Valdosta State is to assist an athlete's return from a major injury and going back to being successful on the field.