It was barely past 10 a.m. when Megan Lee’s first scheduled athlete came in for treatment the morning before the first game of a three-game homestand.
Surrounded by dozens of athletes and athletic trainers in the Acosta Athletic Training and Rehabilitation Room, the third-year physiological science student immediately began to work on the baseball player.
Lee guided the athlete through four core strengthening exercises to help with rotary stability before finishing it off with a soft tissue massage.
Now in her second year as a student intern in the Sports Medicine Internship Program, Lee began working with the UCLA baseball team in the fall. While working with all the players on the field, Lee got to know those dealing with injuries who frequent Acosta.
“There’s basically 40 guys and me in the dugout, so lots of testosterone, and then there’s me,” Lee said. “But it’s really been awesome. The guys who come in for treatment, those are the guys you interact with a lot more.”
Throughout the four exercises and the soft tissue massage, the conversation flowed freely, ranging from school to plans for the weekend.
While Lee said that normal conversation makes the experience more fun for her and is one of the driving forces for her focusing toward physical therapy after college, this casual relationship also helps student interns provide better care for athletes.
Third-year physiological science student and second-year student intern Louise Sylvester worked with Lee on the baseball team in the fall before transferring to women’s tennis in the spring. By having a more friendly relationship with their trainers, Sylvester said athletes become more comfortable talking about more problems.
“Ideally that’s what you’re going for since the nice thing about being an intern is that you’re peers so you can have that relationship that the actual trainers can’t really have,” she said. “We’re all adults, but the athletic trainers are actually adults.”
After finishing up on the first baseball player who came in, Lee’s second appointment of the morning walked in for soft tissue massages on his biceps and lower back before going through stretching. A third came in for Lee’s supervisor, Carl Stocklin, the athletic trainer in charge of the baseball and men’s water polo teams.
He began working right next to Lee and provided a couple teaching points for his intern. Stocklin said he tries to give Lee and other interns as much practical experience as possible.
“I like her to take roles in athletes that have non-urgent issues so that she can have a larger role there and it’s good practice,” Stocklin said. “Right now she can’t get her hands on enough athletes and her fellow students at practice. That’s primary right now – just getting exposure.”
Stocklin also provides Lee readings that he went through in school to make sure she gets the full experience that the internship can offer.
With her major, career goals and internship aligning, Lee said she tries to learn as much as possible from both her classes and from Stocklin.
“She’s stood out for the initiative that she’s taken, with concepts that she’s interested in,” Stocklin said. “What I expect from my students is to have done some personal research before asking a question that needs a complete explanation. Then, they can have an informed conversation.”
The hands-on experience stands out for Lee. She interned at a physical therapy office in high school and while she said she was interested in the relaxed environment, all she could really do was watch.
Now, if Lee sees an injury on the field, she’s able to immediately go take care of it. She’ll see the athlete in the training room every day and help him progress one step at a time.
“Then like a month later, you get to see them back on the field,” Lee said. “Which is the best part of it in my opinion.”
Next year, Lee will be working with the baseball team again for her last year in the program.
While she had the opportunity to get to experience other sports, it was the chance to keep building on her current relationships with the team that drew her back to the baseball field.
“You have all these things going on for school and such, but just going to the field and being able to watch baseball is great,” Lee said. “It just clears your mind.”