Students watch intently as sports medicine teacher Mr. Anthony Garcia carefully weaves a thin piece of thread through a pad of fake flesh, his nimble fingers carefully winding the needle through the soft material.
Over the past few decades, Mr. Garcia’s experience as a professional sports medicine trainer has helped him perfect his medical training skills and bring him to the Olympic Games.
Mr. Garcia discovered the world of sports medicine after suffering an injury from a game of intramural football.
“The school doctors sent me to a trainer and he introduced me to it,” Mr. Garcia said. “My trainer made therapy fun. I thought, ‘This is great, I love it.’”
After graduating from Cal Poly Pomona as a kinesiology major, Mr. Garcia applied to all of the Major League Baseball teams as a sports medicine trainer and accepted an offer from the San Diego Padres.
Mr. Garcia worked as a part of the medical staff at the 1984 Summer Olympic baseball games. There, he met with major league baseball players like Mark McGwire.
“Working at the Olympic Games was very exciting,” Mr. Garcia said. “It was back home and my parents got to see me out on the field with the Olympic team, so that was pretty cool.”
In addition to working at the games, Mr. Garcia worked for the National Basketball Association, where he worked with basketball player Shaquille O’Neal.
“I think it’s the camaraderie that I love most about being a sports trainer,” Mr. Garcia said. “All of the athletes I’ve worked with were really cool. Working at the Olympics and at the World Cup is really amazing because it’s the world championships for those sports.”
Mr. Garcia’s career has led to training sessions with star athletes like soccer player David Beckham, whom he met while working for the Los Angeles Galaxy. He has also signed contracts with professional boxers like Oscar De La Hoya and Ivan Redkach.
“Sports medicine is just a lot of fun,” Sophomore Connor Castro said. “It was cool being out there and helping the athletes whenever they got injured.”
Mr. Garcia’s stories and his interactive classes are well-liked by many students.
“Through volunteering at the trainer’s room, I’ve met a boxer named Walter Sarnoi. He’s actually going to the Olympics, which is really exciting,” Senior Jakob McDonald said. “Meeting professional athletes was pretty cool.”
As of now, Mr. Garcia is contracted to Mr. Sarnoi, who was asked by the President of Laos to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“With any luck, I’m crossing my fingers that I get to go to a second Olympics,” Mr. Garcia said. “It would be a huge honor to work there.”
TCHS School Newspaper