Students often walk past Champion Sports Medicine on the way to the University of Alabama Recreation Center, not realizing the benefits it offers. Champion Sports Medicine provides athletic trainers to intramural and club sporting events, along with injury prevention and free injury evaluations.

Shuler Sitsch, a junior majoring in music education, was one of many students who walked past the office door, located to the right of the main Rec Center entrance. After sustaining an injury during an intramural flag football game, Sitsch now knows exactly what is behind that door.

Sitsch tore his ACL last month and now attends physical therapy at Champion Sports Medicine twice a week.

“It was third down, it was a screen pass,” Sitsch said. “I was running over to the side, and I tried to jump over someone to get the first down. While I was in the air, my leg got pushed, so below my leg went right and the top of my leg just stayed there, and I heard like three distinct pops, and then I landed.”

After telling teammates he was hurt and couldn’t get up, an athletic trainer was radioed to the field for an evaluation. Sitsch said they were unsure of the injury at the time but wrapped his leg in ice and scheduled an appointment for him. Champion Sports Medicine evaluated him the next morning and scheduled an appointment at a doctor’s office later that day where they were able to diagnose him by the end of the week. Now, Sitsch visits Champion Sports Medicine twice a week and will continue to do so until January.

“I just feel better every time I go,” Sitsch said. “I couldn’t get into the shower the first three days, and that was terrible. And now I’m on the elliptical and doing leg presses, so it’s a quick process, and they’re really good about getting you back to where you need to be.”

Champion Sports Medicine athletic trainer over intramural sports CJ Hubauer said at least two trainers will be on the fields available for pre-game tapings and injury evaluations during games. If the injury requires immediate attention, the trainer will send the athlete to DCH or a local hospital. Before games or before working out, students can get ankles or other limbs taped for $2.

“As far as on-field evaluations, any time someone needs some sort of immediate care as far as splinting, wound care, things like that, we provide all of that,” Hubauer said.

Champion Sports Medicine is also available to students who might need an injury evaluation. These visits are free.

“Let’s say something was to happen while they were playing intramurals, and maybe they didn’t think it was very serious at the moment. They can always come into Champion and get a free evaluation from an athletic trainer,” Hubauer said. “If we think it’s a situation where they need to see a physician, we’ll refer them to a physician, and then there are different scenarios where we can just give them advice.”