Leah Harold is the new athletic trainer at Parkway Central High School. She has been an athletic trainer for three years. Before she came to PCH, she was an athletic trainer at Madison High School in Madison, Ill. for two years.  Harold’s experience as an athlete drove her to be a athletic trainer. 

“I had a concussion and a really bad stress fracture,” Harold said, speaking of her time in high school. “Spending so much time with my athletic trainer allowed me to witness all of the potential actions that happened in sports, as far as injuries are concerned. I wanted to be where all the action was. I wanted to be that First Responder.” 

Harold can relate to the athletes she treats. She was a competitive cheerleader for three years and ran track for four years. The injuries she had were concussions and stress fractures which are common among her patients at Parkway Central. 

“The most common injuries I treat would be medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints), muscle strains, and ligament sprains,” Harold said. “A lot of athletes have general soreness, or bumps and bruises. Although sometimes they can feel like an actual injury, it comes with the life of being an athlete.”

Shariff Robinson (12) plays football for PCH. He might have a torn ligament in his knee and he has a sprained ankle. He also has shin splints. Robinson was struggling to get around school on crutches.  He is glad that Harold is the new trainer.

 “I really like her treatment,” Robinson said. “She interacts with the players and the people that come in to her trainer office and the last trainer didn’t do that.”  

Harold didn’t always want to be an athletic trainer; she thought about being an orthopedic surgeon and a family physician. Now, she sometimes thinks about becoming a natural hairstylist.

 “The thing about growing up and becoming an adult is that it’s ok to completely change career fields if the one that you are in does not make you happy,” Harold said. “A lot of people frown upon that, but it is about what makes you happy at the end of the day.”