School hires new athletic trainer

New trainer Elizabeth Gilmore wants to do more than tape ankles and ice sore limbs; she wants improve Saratoga’s athletic program and help aspiring athletes stay healthy enough to play in collegiate sports.

Gilmore, who is employed by the company Moor Physical Therapy, was hired last month in response to a call from athletic director Peter Jordan, who notified the company that Saratoga High was in need of a trainer.

Gilmore has worked the past two years at Santa Clara University, primarily with track and field, cross country, and women’s basketball. She also did additional collegiate training at University of the Pacific and has worked at high schools such as Stagg, Lincoln, Saint Mary’s, Piedmont Hills, Yerba Buena and Leland.

In the past, athletic trainers have decided not to remain for a full school year, but the school hopes that Gilmore will be an exception. Physical therapy companies provide jobs at high schools as training for later jobs. So many times at the end of the year, these trainers graduate and take jobs elsewhere. For this reason, Saratoga expects to hire a new trainer every year.

Gilmore enforcing new rules this year. For example, one of Gilmore’s rules now requires student athletes to sign in before using the training room facility.

“She’s very organized so I’m hoping that she’s going to make the training room neat and make it so that it’s easy for everybody to find what they need,” said Jordan. “I also hope that she keeps everybody healthy and helps them recover quickly from their injuries.”

Gilmore also has ideas from her past jobs that may help to improve the athletic program at Saratoga.

“When an athlete has been injured and goes to the doctor, he or she should get a doctor’s note that says that it is okay for them to participate,” said Jordan. “That’s an example of a policy that [Gilmore] has implemented this year.”

Gilmore not only wants to help student athletes succeed in their high school years, but also wants to prepare them for possible futures in collegiate sports.

“I enjoy the students and I want to try to keep the kids injury free and try to help them accomplish what they want to accomplish with their bodies,” said Gilmore. “If they want to play college football, if they want to run cross country or play tennis in college, then I’ll try and do my best to help them get there.”