Every day, athlete after athlete comes into the Saint Louis University training room. Ailments range from bruises and sprains to concussions and dislocations. Every day, SLU athletes play at 100 percent thanks to the athletic training staff.

They are the angels off the field who keep the players on it. Whether it is an ankle that needs taping, or a knee that needs icing, the trainers are always on hand. From early in the morning to late in the evening, the trainers man their stations.

In fact, the training staff arrives before 7 a.m. every day and they do not leave until all practices are finished and the athletes have finished their treatment. Often, this keeps the training family at SLU until 6 p.m. or later. These days, the staff has new faces in the family. Anthony Breitbach is the new head athletic trainer, along with assistants Nikki Duncan and Miya Sullivan.

Chris West has changed positions from assistant athletic trainer to the head of Strength and Conditioning.

Breitbach came to SLU from Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa.

He takes over a facility that was manned by Jerry Schwertfeger for years. Breitbach said, “I came here because SLU established the need for a changing of the guard in the training room.”

Shannon Myers, sophomore midfielder on the soccer team, said, “Since Tony (Breitbach) got here, the training room has been much more efficient.”

However, it isn’t always that simple.

Sometimes athletics can get interesting, and when that happens the injuries get more serious. In a men’s basketball game last year at Louisville, Marque Perry dislocated his ankle.

Perry was in obvious pain as he squirmed around on the floor. The trainers had a difficult time reinserting Perry’s ankle into the joint. This was easily the most traumatic injury that occurred last year.

In addition to traumatic injuries, some injuries are not always that apparent. Myers had a pair of concussions last year. These required immediate and serious medical attention.

In those cases, Myers was examined by numerous doctors, and even a neurosurgeon, but the trainers were along every step of the way.

“Anytime that life or limb is being threatened, our presence on the field is key,” said Breitbach. “We have to make quick decisions that can affect the athletes’ futures.” The importance of on-the-field-training is quite obvious, but equally important is offseason weight training and conditioning.

With his new title as head of Strength and Conditioning, West is whipping the Billiken team into shape. Strict plans of lifting weights and running have been instituted into the Billiken regiment.

On any day of the week, an observer might spot a Billiken athletic team doing agility drills at the Billikens’ Sports Complex.

Whether it be the baseball team, one of the soccer teams, or one of the basketball teams, they are all under the close eye of West.

Lifting weights had been instituted as part of every Billiken’s diet. Myers said, “Lifting with Chris is good for us, because he knows what to do, and we feel that he knows our limits. We get a good workout no matter what it is that we are doing.”

This strict program of strength will hopefully let the athletes achieve greater success through better muscle power, quickness and speed.

The changes that are occurring in the Billiken athletic training program are essential to continued success. More importantly, however, increased physical prowess will enable the Billikens to produce better results on the playing field.

“You can always get quicker by training with Chris West,” said sophomore Jack Jewsbury.

Even with all the changes, the training room is busy as ever. There are always hamstrings being stretched and joints being taped. The SLU training staff is treating injuries as they occur, and thwarting others before they occur.