Athletic trainer enhances performance

The crowd is on its feet as chants erupt from both sides of the stands. With the game hanging in the balance, 12 seconds remain as the Palo Alto basketball team sets up its nal o ensive e ort. As the clock ticks down, a layup is contested, and when the buzzer sounds, one player is left facedown on the court, clutching his ankle.

Immediately, athletic trainer Justine Iongi (known as Ms. E to students because her last name is pronounced E-on-gee) rushes onto the court, medical bag in hand, ready to tend to the injury.

Students and coaches say athletic trainers like Iongi play a crucial role in promoting the health and wellness of student athletes in a school setting. ey work to prevent, diagnose and treat injuries, as well as provide education resources to help athletes maintain their physical tness.

Iongi attended San Diego State University where she received her bachelor’s degree in science and athletic training. She later obtained her master’s degree at San Jose State University. And since Iongi came to Paly in 2015, she’s made connections with countless players and coaches.

Junior Richie Ogawa, defender on the varsity soccer team, said he often arrives at the training room before practices and games to ensure he remains healthy. He occasionally goes after practice to alleviate tension in muscles and tendons.

“If I hadn’t gone to Ms. E, I’d be sti as a stick,” Ogawa said.

Besides treatment, Iongi helps student athletes become more informed about injuries and how to prevent them.

“She’s de nitely helped me improve my knowledge by talking about what part of the body a treatment a ects and what stretches you can do,” Ogawa said.

Iongi said she also collaborates with coaches, physicians and other healthcare professionals to ensure the best possible care for student athletes.

Sophomore varsity basketball player Jorell Clark recently started going to the training room before games and practices for a reaggravated hip injury that cut his freshman season short.

“If I didn’t go to Mrs. E, I would say that (my injury) would be a lot worse than it is right now,” Clark said. “She’s really kind, helpful, and she gives me the right options, and the treatment is great.”

After going to Iongi for treatment and asking for advice, Clark said he takes injuries more seriously.

“I’m more cautious with things,” Clark said. “But even after I’ve recovered, I still might do some of the treatment that she’s given to me (to) make sure I stay healthy.”

Senior Mert Yanar, a forward on the varsity basketball team who transferred from Pennsylvania to Paly at the end of his sophomore year, contributed to a league championship last season.

Lately, Yanar has been stopping by the training room before practices and games.

“With my back … the one day that I didn’t see Ms. E, I couldn’t practice for more than 15 minutes before it started bothering me,” Yanar said. “But once I started seeing Ms. E again, with her (nerve treatment) and her exercises, I feel like she allows me to get on the court as fast as possible, and I de nitely feel like she helps my recovery.”

Junior Torii Kaleba, a varsity track and eld athlete, said she often went to see Ms. E before practices and got taped up for shin splints, which is caused by repetitive stress on the shinbone and the connective tissues that attach muscles to the bone.

“She’s really helpful,” Kaleba said. “She talks me through what exercises I should do, as well as informing me of how everything a ects one another.”

Iongi said she enjoys positively impacting the school by ensuring the health and wellbeing of student athletes, as well as promoting a culture of safety and excellence in the athletic programs.

Iongi said, “My favorite part is (seeing) all the student athletes, especially those who have come to me struggling with injuries, nally on the top of their game and succeeding in their sport.” was tough, and even after, it’s de nitely a ected my game, how aggressive I am and how I play.”

Boys varsity soccer defeated Gunn on Jan. 25 and Jan. 30 with scores of 3-2 and 2-0 respectively.

After the rst match on Jan. 25, coach Rusty Millard said the win meant a lot to the team after the hard work they put in.

“( is win was) massive,” Millard said. “It’s three months of having these guys put in the time day in and day out. It’s doing tness when they don’t want to. It’s just coming together and challenging ourselves.”

Senior and co-captain Jonas Pao said that the team played well and that the win against Gunn was encouraging and uplifting following a loss to Santa Clara High School.

“I thought (tonight’s performance) was great, I thought the boys really came out,” Pao said. “We came back from a loss, and obviously at home, (defeating) a rival just couldn’t feel any better.”

Millad said scoring the rst goal in the game contributed to the team’s victory.

“I think ultimately in a rivalry game, it’s always the rst goal that sets the tone and so we felt like getting the rst goal was de nitely to our advantage,” Millard said.

Senior and captain Zach Cooper also said that it felt amazing to come out of the second half with the lead.

“(Taking the early lead) was incredible,” Cooper said. “At the end of the rst half, it’s great to go into the locker room with the lead.”

In the second game against Gunn on Jan. 30, Paly kept Gunn scoreless in a 2-0 victory. Senior Dinu Deshpande scored both goals.

Junior defender Richie Ogawa said the team changed tactics after the rst game to better counter Gunn’s strategies

“We learned from our last mistakes and made adjustments accordingly,” Ogawa said. “It was well planned out by our coaches. Everyone on the team knew that building from the back wasn’t going to work, so we switched our game plan to long balls.”

Liam Gi en crouches, ready to explode. e moment the ball is snapped, he barrels toward the quarterback. Avoiding a teammate, Gi en plants his leg, and an opponent slams into him, tearing his ACL. Gi en, a sophomore defensive lineman on the varsity football team, has a story that may sound familiar to many athletes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 250,000 athletes yearly su er an injury from an anterior cruciate ligament, better known as ACL. In addition to ACL tears,

And the impact on athletes’ mental health and academics from injuries is often overlooked, Gi en said.

“Mentally, having football being taken away, a big passion (of mine), took a bit of a toll on me,” Gi en said. “(I) lost a lot of motivation academically, which de nitely had an e ect.”

In addition, rehabilitation can take time out of student-athletes’ already hectic days. Sophomore Roman Jacobs said he would often miss class due to untimely physical therapy appointments.

Justine Iongi has been part of Paly’s Athletic Training program for seven years. Since receiving her physical therapy certi cation 13 years ago, Iongi said she recognizes overuse injuries like shin splints as the most common chronic injuries students su er. To avoid injuries she suggests properly warming up and stretching before games, but also recommends avoiding “doing too much too fast,” especially when playing sports for the rst time.

Iongi said she has also developed a systematic approach to treating di erent injuries, allowing athletes to treat the underlying cause to their injuries.

“We evaluate the injury, and then we see what’s going on, and I create a rehab and treatment plan,” Iongi said. “So not only do we implement exercises for someone in progressive steps, but we also have a lot of cool things that we use to help with recovery.”

As part of her systematic treatment plans, Iongi said she employs technology like NormaTec and Game Ready to tailor treatments for speci c injuries, providing optimal recoveries.

“We progress you to where we make sure you have a full range of motion and no pain,” Iongi said. “Our goal (is) to get you back to sprinting, where you don’t even have to come back here to do exercises to get ready for your practice.”

In addition to Paly’s training program, athletes often seek outside help with rehabilitation. Movement Health Science, founded by Doug Hoogendyk, has worked with multiple Major League Soccer teams and Stanford Wrestling to prevent injuries. Hoogendyk said he specializes in working with athletes to reduce injury risk.

“Tom Brady coined the phrase, ‘staying exible and being strong in your musculature,’” Hoogendyk said. “Having dynamic strength is key to staying healthy and being t to avoid injury.” ough the team lost its Jan. 27 game against Mountain View, Romero said the team put forth a solid e ort. e team’s previous coach is no longer with the team as a result of the club showcase controversy.

Junior Alessandra Chandler prepares to pass the ball in practice. “We have opportunities to score and the potential to win a game,” Chandler said.

Despite eight players being suspended from the team for violating league rules by participating in a club soccer showcase, the girls soccer team remains resilient according to new head coach Jeremy Romero.

“We lost 3-0, but I don’t think the score re ects how hard the girls worked and what we have been working towards: attitude and their work ethic,” Romero said.

According to team captain and junior Kiana Feldis, despite the team’s struggles, it has been making progress.

“ is season was kind of a rough start, but I feel we’re starting to work together really well,” Feldis said.

Now that the season has come to a halfway point, the team is playing against schools a second time, and junior Alessandra Chandler said they hope to turn it around in the last half of the season.

“We have opportunities to score and the potential to win a game,” Chandler said. “We just need to take more shots.”

According to Romero, it is di cult to maintain progress throughout the year due to the short nature of the athletic season.

“(Coaching) high school, you work with (the team) for only three months, and then you don’t see them for the rest of (the year),” Romero said. “So, you have to do your best in getting these girls that aren’t familiar with how everyone plays and getting the chemistry going.”

But Chandler said the team still nds ways to create strong bonds with each other, despite the limited time-frame, such as going out to dinner together.

“We have grown closer over those three months because we have practice every morning at 7 a.m. and a lot of games,” Chandler said.

Romero said a critical part in performing well is maintaining a positive mental space. After every game, Romero said he checks in with each player and congratulates them to ensure each athlete is appreciated.

“ ey are going to be their biggest critic, not the fans, not the teammates, themselves,” Romero said. “If you continue to focus on the negative things, negative things will happen. (If you) focus on the positive things, positive things will happen.”