Liberty Flames’ Assistant Trainer takes a different approach on treating athletes
Salisa Hauber is the assistant athletic trainer for the Liberty Flames Football team.
When you think of an athletic trainer, a few things come to mind. Perhaps an image of someone taping an injured player’s leg or performing physical therapy.
Hauber states that although the physical objective of the job is the baseline for athletic training, the field is becoming increasingly reliant on sports science, and this change might be the breakthrough that college and professional sports need.
Hauber was exposed to sports from a young age through playing sports, watching her siblings play sports and watching sporting events on TV.
This love for sports went hand in hand with frustration regarding injuries that prevented herself or her peers from competing.
She began working in physical therapy in high school but found herself unsatisfied in the field.
“I was constantly seeing myself getting frustrated,” Hauber said. “I think that is just as important … finding out what’s not for you, as is finding what is for you.”
Hauber had a mentor who introduced her to athletic training. She fell in love with the program and ended up getting her master’s degree in athletic training from Iowa State University.
Now, she finds herself working with the Flames Football team.
“I love working with a big team,” Hauber said. “Having a big roster is so fun just because you have so many personalities in the room. I love the collaboration that comes with working football.”
One of the unique aspects of her job is that in serving a team, she is provided with a team of her own.
“Once you get into Division I football, you have three or four athletic trainers working in that sport specifically,” Hauber said. “Having that constant collaboration, being able to lean on people … is something that like I really crave.”
Football is one of the most physically demanding sports in college athletics. In Hauber’s office, the responsibility of managing the toll that physicality takes on student-athletes falls squarely on her and the team.
“I feel like this profession can kind of have a horse-blindered view on it,” Hauber said. “‘Oh, they just like tape our ankles and that’s it.’ But really, we’re usually like the first responder to an injury.”
Another important aspect of the job is injury prevention.
“We’re there the whole way through,” Hauber said. “From the prevention to immediate and acute care. Whether it’s a surgery or a bruise, we’ll take care of it the whole way through, all the way till you’re back.”
One way that athletes receive specialized care is through the emerging field of sports science. Hauber describes sports science as the practice of using data to drive decisions. Continually relying on data to support athletes, guide training and form recovery strategies ensures their care is approached from every possible angle.
“As you dive into it, there’s so many metrics that you can track, not only from an injury standpoint, but from a recovery standpoint, from a hydration standpoint with our nutrition staff, with our strength staff,” Hauber said.
This multifaceted approach to recovery and injury prevention could be a breakthrough in college and professional sports. Although Hauber loves the tactical part of athletic training, there are some essential questions she keeps at the center of her work that revolve around the soul, not the body.
“How can you pour into them? How can you help them develop as a person? People come from all different types of walks of life in this building. And so that connection aspect is like my most favorite part,” Hauber said.
Hauber recognizes that college offers some of the most crucial years in the mental and spiritual development of her athletes.
“The thing I’m the most passionate about in athletic training isn’t even athletic training. It’s taking care of these people,” Hauber said. “Making sure that these guys know at the end of the day, … their identity is not in football.”
Potter is a sports editor for The Liberty Champion.