By ALEXANDRA SMITH
Sports Editor
Where did you work before you came to Piedmont College?
Erika: I was working at LaGrange College for the last five years.
Matt: This is my second stint at Piedmont College. I worked here from 2007-2010, it was my first job out of grad school. I really enjoyed it but once I got married I went to work at LaGrange College and that is where I have worked for the past three years.
Q: What attracted you to Piedmont College?
E: Piedmont College is a great institution academically and athletically.
M: It was a great career opportunity for myself and my wife. I wanted to challenge myself with being a head athletic trainer. Plus, I was very familiar with the school so it was a win, win situation.
Q: What is your role in the athletic training department?
E: Here at Piedmont I am an assistant athletic trainer. I primarily work with the volleyball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s basketball, softball and women’s lacrosse teams.
M: I am the head athletic trainer. I am responsible for oversight of all the health needs of our student athletes.
Q: How is your work relationship with your husband different from your relationships with other trainers, other than him being your husband?
E: Matt and I’s work relationship is awesome. I love working with him. Working with him makes my job easier. We can find solutions to any
problem together. No day is too stressful or busy to get through as long as I have him working with me.
M: It really isn’t that much different. We are as professional as possible. We have known each other for seven years and have worked together for four of those years (being married in three of them). We worked together at LaGrange. It really is nice to have someone that you really trust to bounce ideas off of though, especially if you are having a hard time with something.
Q: What is the best excuse you have ever had from an athlete for not doing their therapy?
E: I had an athlete tell me it was against his morals to get a flu shot (he admitted later he was just afraid of the needle). I’ve had people tell me they got hurt in church, in class and even while sleeping. I’ve had someone tell me they couldn’t do rehab that day because class was too stressful. Sometimes I get the honest truth that it’s just because they’re too lazy.
M: I don’t know if I have ever had a really off the wall excusebutIdogetalotof ‘I over slept’, ‘I forgot’, or my favorite is ‘I didn’t know I had to come every day’.
Q: If an athlete wants to suck up to you, what candy/ snack food should they bring you?
E: Chocolate, peanut butter, any candy really . . . Just nothing grape flavored, yuck!
M: Easy. Red Velvet Cupcakes. Idon’thavemany soft spots for food but those are a weakness of mine.