For the last three years, Janine Greco has been working as an athletic trainer for public schools throughout Palm Beach County, and since November of last year, she has been working specifically with varsity athletic teams from Wellington High School.
Greco’s job is to work with Wolverine athletes and their coaches to do whatever she can to help the athletes prevent injuries and do what she can to help them recover as quickly as possible when injuries do take place.
Greco is focused on WHS athletes because of the support for high school athletics by her employer, Baptist Health.
“Baptist Health has contracts with 13 Palm Beach County schools in which they provide an athletic trainer to all of them,” Greco explained. “We work closely with the orthopedic physicians if we need to refer our athletes to them.”
Greco can trace the decision to become a fully certified athletic trainer to her collegiate years — four years of studying and playing rugby at Binghamton University in New York for her undergraduate degree, followed by a stint in East Lansing, Michigan, where she earned her master’s degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in sports medicine at the University of Michigan.
“I love science, sports and helping people,” Greco said. “I took ‘Care and Prevention of Athletic Injuries’ my sophomore year in college, and I was so hooked that I started the program the next semester.”
For someone like Greco, the old saying that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is definitely true.
“Throughout the season, I am wrapping ankles with athletic tape, applying ice packs to bruised knees and shoulders, and emphasizing the importance of hydration to athletes,” Greco said. “I also have the athletes do rehabilitation in the athletic training room, as well as on the sidelines. Parent communication is a huge part of the job.”
As the initial medical point of contact for WHS student-athletes, Greco deals with a wide variety of injuries throughout the fall, winter and spring seasons.
“I see sprains and strains, skin diseases, concussions, fractures and dislocated joints,” Greco said.
Most people are unaware that athletic trainers also have a role to play in the area of mental health.
“We refer patients to guidance counselors, and we are mandatory reporters,” Greco explained.
One of the reasons that Greco is such a passionate athletic trainer is because she was an active athlete while growing up outside Buffalo, New York, at Grand Island Senior High School.
“I was a soccer player, but to stay busy, I also did a season of softball, track and bowling,” Greco recalled.
Of all the sports offered at WHS, football is her most time-consuming activity.
“Football is the only sport where I will be on the sidelines all the time — for all practices and every game,” Greco said.
Pete Walker, the head football coach at WHS, appreciates Greco’s professionalism and attention to detail.
“She is vital to the team,” Walker said. “She does a great job diagnosing if our players need to be on the field or if they need to be shut down. We’re glad to have her on our team.”
When the students are on their summer break, Greco’s work continues.
“As far as the summer goes, I will still be at Wellington High School for a couple of days a week for injury checks and rehabilitation, and we work some community events through Baptist Health,” Greco added.
She is always happy to share her advice on how to stay healthy and out of harm’s way.
“Listen to your body! If it hurts, do not continue to do the same thing that aggravates it,” Greco said. “Carry a water bottle with you everywhere; there is no excuse for dehydration. Work hard and follow your coach’s advice on weightlifting and stretching. Static stretching at the end of practice, and active stretching before practices and games are important. Someone will always be better than you, but you can always work harder than them. More is not always better to avoid overuse injuries.”
When Greco is not monitoring the health and welfare of student-athletes at WHS, she is watching sports and staying physically active.
“Football — both college and NFL — is my favorite sport to watch,” Greco said. “I like doing Peloton Bootcamp workouts at the gym, and I play in a kickball league.”
Wow! What a special team member. I’m certain she is appreciated by everyone she encounters.