A popular figure among student-athletes in particular, head athletic trainer Daniel Walker has made himself a rather familiar face to many in just his breif time at Aragon. Walker treats students and faculty by helping them recuperate from sports injuries through injury recognition, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation.
Walker grew up in Santa Cruz, California, and later moved to Arizona to pursue a college education at Arizona State University, graduating with the class of 2001. He had originally wanted to become a physical therapist, even working as an unpaid intern at a clinic in Arizona. But he was recommended to obtain his athletic training certificate first, which ultimately prompted him to become a certified athletic trainer in 2004. Before becoming a certified athletic trainer, Walker had also worked for an airline company.
After obtaining his certificate, he moved back to California in the hopes that his children would have a better education.
Starting his job at Aragon was not drastically different from his previous working in a clinic. “I worked in a clinic so there was no going out to fields, and also everything was mostly referred to me by doctors. But now I see more athletes before they visit a doctor. Also, I had Tuesdays off on my last job, but the hours were the same: I would finish at seven at night.”
Part of Walker’s job is to attend practices and games of various sports such as football, basketball, soccer, and wrestling. There, he will set up a medical stand, and students will come to him with injuries, or he would run onto the field to treat an injury.
Walker also facilitates pre-season, in-season, postseason, and offseason conditioning programs to assist student athletes in gaining maximum physical conditioning.
In addition, back at his office, Walker practices injury rehabilitation on athletes, using a variety of therapeutic methods such as massaging, supportive procedures, and other techniques like exercise machines to aid recovery.
“If there’s one thing that I want people who are not familiar with who I am to know, it would be that if anybody needs help with injuries they can come see me. Athletes, maintenance, faculty, all alike.”
A typical work day for Walker would be arriving at the Bay Club, where he serves as a personal trainer, at around 6 a.m., and teach a weight-loss class with three clients who take about an hour each. Afterwards, he arrives at Aragon and does paperwork about the different athletes he has worked on. For the rest of the day, Walker will work on people at lunch in his office and after school out on the fields.
When asked when his interest in sports medicine first developed, Walker replied that he wasn’t sure, but recounted how his family had played a role in helping him peak his interest in this field. “My cousin hurt his knee in football in high school, which made me think about [being an athletic trainer]. My mother also tore her ACL.”
Outside of his job. Walker enjoys having fun with his kids, and playing squash, a sport much like racquetball that he picked up at the Bay Club recently.
Kelsey Dobbs, a sophomore tennis and basketball player, reveals how she recently started to pull her hamstring so her basketball coach had instructed her to seek Walker for help. “Every time my legs start to feel tense I always go to Dan and he helps massage the muscle and soothe it. He’s always there to hand me ice, braces, [and] bandages when I need it. Also, during recovery time he lets me use his roller and his bicycle in order to start training again.”
“Having Dan as Aragon’s trainer has helped me as an athlete tremendously, not only because because of his tips on working out and recovering as an athlete but also his kindness. I’m really thankful to have him on campus,” says Dobbs.
