Athletic Training Staff: The Backbone of Boise State Football

When people think about Boise State football’s long history of excellence, familiar names typically come to mind. Players Kellen Moore, Ashton Jeanty and Demarcus Lawrence all contributed to Boise State’s national prominence during their respective times in Boise, and coaches Chris Petersen and Lyle Smith both set standards of excellence and consistent winning that would pave the way for their successors. However, the 22 conference championships and 13 bowl games that the Broncos have won are not solely testaments to the talent of the players and coaches, but to the cornerstone of Boise State football: the athletic training staff. 

When a player goes down with an injury on the field, the head athletic trainer, usually accompanied by the head coach, is the first one off the sideline tending to the player. This is usually the extent of the work trainers do that fans get to see. Behind closed doors, however, there are countless hours of work and preparation done by the athletic training staff to keep the players healthy and playing to their best ability. 

“We aren’t just training people to get stronger,” Associate Athletic Trainer McKenna Drevno said. “We’re the sports medicine team. We find you at your weakest and we build you back up.” 

Drevno, who is in her fourth season at Boise State, completed her undergraduate degree at Miami University in Ohio. Drevno immediately became a certified athletic trainer after graduating from Miami and soon after became a graduate assistant at Montana State. With the help of Drevno and the rest of the staff 

The week-by-week work of Drevno and three other trainers, Jeremy Busch, Brandon Voigt, and Michael Fanning, typically starts on Sundays, with injuries being divided evenly among the four. The day after games is for “med-checks,” where players get evaluated by doctors and receive imaging if needed. Monday is the day of big-time rehab where players receive treatment from trainers throughout the entire day,  lift weights and see a masseuse. 

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are when the team practices in full pads. The staff starts these days by taping players at 6:15 a.m. and continuing treatment on players all day, during and after practice. All-day treatment continues on Thursday when the team completes walkthroughs, with final decisions on who’s good to go for game day and who’s not being made on Friday. 

The long hours and dedication required by the team demonstrate the hard work expected of college students seeking to become athletic trainers or physical therapists. 

Boise State sophomore Matias Munera is currently working towards eventually getting his masters in athletic training and attending school to become a physical therapist after graduating. His goal is to then become an athletic trainer for a team or physical therapist working with athletes. Munera’s long hours at his athletic training internship can sometimes feel overwhelming. He describes his schedule as similar to that of a Boise State football player. 

“One challenge is definitely the hours. It’s a lot of work,” Munera said. “It almost feels like a D-1 athlete’s schedule without the perks. But, I really do enjoy the work I put in there regardless.” 

When you spend as much time around the team as McKenna Drevno and the rest of the trainers do, the relationships that are built with the players become a very big part of the job.

“I’m not going to sit there and talk to guys about X’s and O’s,” Drevno said. “I’m going to ask you, ‘how are you doing, how’s the girlfriend, how’s mom and dad, how’s school.’ We all care about [the players] as [people].”

Drevno noted that the most rewarding part of the job is being able to see the complete 180  of an athlete going from being in pain from an injury to getting back out on the field healthy and playing their game. Drevno always finds it very meaningful when players show their appreciation for her help. 

“Having that student-athlete come back to you and say ‘hey, thank you’ is really cool,” Drevno said. “There was one time a player gave me a hug in the middle of the game. He probably thought it was something simple, but to me, it was like, ‘Wow, that’s awesome’.”