Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Athletic trainer Amy Obenour tapes the ankle of Saratoga High School student, Ashley LaMore, 16.

Saratoga High trainer to work at Olympic Games

But she still prefers working with students

By Tim Persyn

The Summer Olympics await Amy Obenour, athletic trainer at Saratoga High School, who will be a volunteer trainer at the Atlanta games July 5-20. Obenour will work at the badminton venue in downtown Atlanta.

Because the Olympics open July 19, most of Obenour's time in Georgia will be spent during preparations for the games. She is not sure what her Olympic duties will include, although she guesses she will oversee practice sessions.

"I'm not expecting any major injuries," she says of her badminton duties. "I'm expecting chronic overuse tendonitis."

Obenour's journey to Atlanta started about a year ago when she saw an advertisement for Olympic volunteers in a professional journal. She sent in a resume to apply and then heard in April that she had been selected.

When she first got the call informing her that she was in, she didn't believe it. "I gave the caller hell trying to find out if it was for real," she says.

Once in Atlanta, she hopes to check out the opening ceremonies, as well as track and field and swimming. The men's basketball "Dream Team" is also on her mind. "I would love to go to the gold medal-round game of basketball," she says.

Although Obenour is understandably excited at the prospect of working at the Olympics, she says her future career goals continue to lie at the high school, not the professional, level. She has been at Saratoga High for four years.

To describe her role there, Obenour says, "I provide everything from Band-Aids to help with serious injuries to psychological (support)." For instance, Obenour said she might talk to a player who hasn't started in a few games.

Eventually, she would like to earn a credential and teach, possibly in the special education field. In addition to serving as a trainer, she is currently a special education aide at Saratoga High.

Mike Machado, the school's football and baseball coach, has worked with Obenour for the whole time she has been at the school. "She's very valuable to the sports program. I count on her for a lot of things," Machado says.

He describes Obenour's relationship with students as being like that of a big sister who is sought out for advice by younger siblings. "They go to her for physical and mental problems," he says.

She explains that one of the rewards of her job involves getting to know the families of her student-athletes. Obenour can often be spotted on the sidelines of Saratoga High games, walking her dog and visiting with parents.

"I love the influence I have on high school kids," she says. "The kids are maturing as people and as athletes--every day is a new experience."