Athens, Ga. (Nov. 21, 2022) – Piedmont Athens Regional Orthopedic Sports Medicine Athletic Training program recently recognized student sports medicine assistant Ryleigh Acres, an eighth grader at Bethlehem Christian Academy, as the program’s Athlete of the Month. Acres was nominated by Rosanna Jaramillo, MS, LAT, ATC, the Piedmont Athens Regional head athletic trainer for Bethlehem Christian, for her “dedication to the sports medicine profession.”
“Ryleigh has played an important role this football season as the sports medicine assistant,” said Jaramillo. “She has attended every football practice on time and helps to set up and clean up before and after each game. She is prepared to help me at any time with any problem.”
In addition to her work as a sports medicine assistant, Acres plays basketball and is the goalie for the girls’ soccer team. As an athlete, she uses the tools she’s learned from Jaramillo to improve her own game and prevent injury.
“Ryleigh is a hard worker, resilient, determined, strong willed, outspoken, and intelligent in the way sports work, as well as sports medicine. She is going to grow into an amazing athletic trainer,” said Jaramillo.
Piedmont Athens Regional partners with 13 area schools to provide Athletic Training and Sports Medicine services. Each trainer is the primary health care provider on campus for all athletic events and is usually overseeing as many as six teams per season. They are often called on to deliver care to visiting teams, providing on field treatment, concussion evaluations, and emergency action planning. In addition to offering care during games and matches, athletic trainers perform injury prevention education, pre-participation evaluations, and post-injury rehabilitation for athletes.
The Orthopedic Sports Medicine team at Piedmont Athens Regional established the Athlete of the Month program to recognize hard-working student athletes in the area.
"The award was developed to celebrate the hard work student athletes put forth in our sports medicine rehab program. Each month, we focus on one high school and meet as a committee, which includes the school’s athletic director, other members of their team and members of the athletic training program," explained Katie Terrell, a Piedmont Athens athletic trainer and outreach coordinator for the hospital’s sports medicine program.
As the Athlete of the Month, Acres received a certificate and is featured in the Orthopedic Sports Medicine facility located on Piedmont’s Oconee Health Campus in Watkinsville, Ga.
For more information about services offered by Piedmont Physicians Orthopedic Sports Medicine of Athens, click here.