In various sports it’s inevitable that an athlete gets hurt, takes time off, and returns soon. What can be overlooked is the person overseeing the athletes and assisting them in their recovery and prevention of future injuries. At Sheridan High School, Joanne Brewster is the Certified Athletic Trainer. The athletic trainer is in attendance during every sports practice and competition, and is available for prevention, and treatment of injuries. She also teaches a class about the basics of athletic training such as how to tape, assess injuries, learn the basics about the human body, and how to do basic rehabilitation to an injury.
Brewster went to Cheyenne Central High School where she was active in the student athletic training program. Her extra curricular activities didn’t stop there; she was involved in Honor Society, FBLA, Key Club, and the environmental club. She went on to the University of Northern Colorado where she completed her bachelor’s degree and finished her education in the master’s degree program at Montana State University. Brewster’s education is ongoing because her field requires her to keep up on the latest taping techniques and basic emergency/CPR training.
Athletic Training became something she wanted to do because of her love for sports and the outdoors. “It’s a very rewarding profession that requires a caring person and long hours, but the rewards outweigh the downsides,” Brewster said. She adds that it’s different everyday and the hours are very flexible.
“She’s very passionate about her job and is always there to assist you with your needs whether it’s taping my wrist or rehabbing me after football games on Saturdays,” said senior football player Scotty Wollen.
Brewster works with her own student athletic trainers as well. Senior Meghan Jacobs, a student in the program said, “Joanne makes training really fun for the student trainers and the way she handles injuries with other people and making sure others are taken care of is amazing. She’s always on top of her toes and it’s such a fun job working with the football team.” The student athletic training program allows students to shadow Joanne and help them get a taste of what it’s like to work in the profession by giving them hands-on experience.
Brewster’s only passion isn’t athletic training though, rodeo and horses are very important to her. In 2004 she was chosen as Lady in Waiting for Cheyenne Frontier Days. She didn’t stop there; in 2005 she became Miss Cheyenne Frontier Days. To achieve this honor she was required to tryout. The tryouts consisted of creating an achievement scrapbook, family history, a riding competition, and an interview with the general committee. The riding competition is proving the ability to ride a strange horse. Family history is very vital for becoming Miss Cheyenne Frontier Days. It’s preferred that the family is a Wyoming pioneer, which Brewster qualified for considering she is the sixth generation in her family to live in the state, and her family began living here while it was a territory.
Brewster was able to travel to Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, Kansas, Oregon, and Canada to promote the Frontier Days. Achieving this success was so important to Brewster because she grew up around rodeo and Frontier Days. “It was special to represent the rodeo I love and be a role model to younger girls,” Brewster said. Being a role model was so special to her because she remembered vividly looking up to the previous Miss Cheyenne Frontier Days. In her free time she still enjoys horseback riding.
Brewster plans on remaining in Sheridan and at the high school level. She said that she is very happy here and she loves her job.