| << Front page | Sports | September 22, 2006 |
In the Locker Room: Manzie Williams
Most people have caught a glimpse of the elusive whirl-pool athletic training room in Philips Gym. Whether you ventured there to purchase a mouth guard for your three-week stint on the rugby team or walked by and noticed a half-naked person submerged in a silver basin, you know it exists. But what really goes on there? This week, one of Oberlin’s athletic trainers, Manzie Williams, sits down to talk about blisters, athletic tape and his job in the equivocal athletic training room here at Oberlin.
Leslie Ruster: So, Manzie…let’s be real. On average, how many ankles do you tape a week?
Manzie Williams: I probably tape around 30 to 40 ankles a week.
LR: Wow. And is it true that your job requires that you work with skin lube on a daily basis?
MW: (laughing) Well, I use skin lube — to be more politically correct, topical ointment — to make sure that my athletes are able to compete to their full capacity.
LR: And what precisely do you use topical ointment for?
MW: I use it to rub out knots in the muscle, increase blood flow and break up scar tissue. With a certain technique and in some athletes, it can increase skin temperatures. Some athletes need it on a daily basis. Let’s leave it at that.
LR: Hmm…what’s your favorite thing to do with athletic tape?
MW: I don’t know, I’ve never really thought about it. Back in college when I interned for the Browns, some of the athletes taped another intern to a water caddy, dragged him out to the farthest field in a golf cart and attached him to a field post.
LR: Wow.
MW: Yeah, I also interned with the Cavs back in college.
LR: Did you meet LeBron?
MW: No, I never met him. It was the year before he showed up.
LR: That’s a bummer. You are really young. Is this your first job?
MW: Well, when I first got out of school I filled in temporarily here at Oberlin for an athletic trainer out on maternity leave. Then I went and worked at a clinic in Tifin, Ohio for a couple months and then I came back here.
LR: How do you like Oberlin?
MW: Well, I’m always around athletics here so that is nice. At Tefin in the clinic I worked with the older population. There weren’t many athletes. It’s a lot more hands-on with the elderly. You have to help them move to machines and you have to be involved with every step in the rehab process.
LR: Are any of your sports teams here more demanding than others?
MW: Well, they haven’t been that demanding. We’ve had a few bumps and bruises.
LR: Give me some gritty details about your job. What’s the nastiest ailment that you’ve seen thus far this school year?
MW: Nasty blisters if anything. People’s pups were pretty beat up over pre-season.
LR: Pups?
MW: Pups. Your feet! The pups were screaming! All the sports teams had blister problems. I was mainly on blister control.
LR: Do you have any advice for preventing blisters from transpiring?
MW: Adequate footwear! Properly fitting shoes. Thicker socks. Some athletes have been wearing paper-thin socks or no socks at all. All I know is that if you take care of the pups, the pups will take care of you.
Leslie Ruster: So, Manzie…let’s be real. On average, how many ankles do you tape a week?
Manzie Williams: I probably tape around 30 to 40 ankles a week.
LR: Wow. And is it true that your job requires that you work with skin lube on a daily basis?
MW: (laughing) Well, I use skin lube — to be more politically correct, topical ointment — to make sure that my athletes are able to compete to their full capacity.
LR: And what precisely do you use topical ointment for?
MW: I use it to rub out knots in the muscle, increase blood flow and break up scar tissue. With a certain technique and in some athletes, it can increase skin temperatures. Some athletes need it on a daily basis. Let’s leave it at that.
LR: Hmm…what’s your favorite thing to do with athletic tape?
MW: I don’t know, I’ve never really thought about it. Back in college when I interned for the Browns, some of the athletes taped another intern to a water caddy, dragged him out to the farthest field in a golf cart and attached him to a field post.
LR: Wow.
MW: Yeah, I also interned with the Cavs back in college.
LR: Did you meet LeBron?
MW: No, I never met him. It was the year before he showed up.
LR: That’s a bummer. You are really young. Is this your first job?
MW: Well, when I first got out of school I filled in temporarily here at Oberlin for an athletic trainer out on maternity leave. Then I went and worked at a clinic in Tifin, Ohio for a couple months and then I came back here.
LR: How do you like Oberlin?
MW: Well, I’m always around athletics here so that is nice. At Tefin in the clinic I worked with the older population. There weren’t many athletes. It’s a lot more hands-on with the elderly. You have to help them move to machines and you have to be involved with every step in the rehab process.
LR: Are any of your sports teams here more demanding than others?
MW: Well, they haven’t been that demanding. We’ve had a few bumps and bruises.
LR: Give me some gritty details about your job. What’s the nastiest ailment that you’ve seen thus far this school year?
MW: Nasty blisters if anything. People’s pups were pretty beat up over pre-season.
LR: Pups?
MW: Pups. Your feet! The pups were screaming! All the sports teams had blister problems. I was mainly on blister control.
LR: Do you have any advice for preventing blisters from transpiring?
MW: Adequate footwear! Properly fitting shoes. Thicker socks. Some athletes have been wearing paper-thin socks or no socks at all. All I know is that if you take care of the pups, the pups will take care of you.
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