At the end of the school year, Connecticut College will say goodbye to Cathy Horne, our head athletic trainer. Since August 1983 when Horne first arrived on campus, her job, as well as the athletic program as a whole, has evolved greatly. Back then, the trainer’s room was a small space inside of the health center. She was the only trainer, and there were only about fifteen sports teams. The teams were less competitive, as well.
“It was not as big of a deal to only have one trainer back then,” Horne said.
Horne witnessed the building of the new athletic center; she, along with colleagues Dale Gervais-Robinson and John Heck still occupy the trainer’s room that was built eighteen years ago. It now serves twenty-eight varsity teams, which Horne asserted are now much more competitive. She has seen changes in the field of athletic training.
“Coaches have changed, because back then, they didn’t know what to make of me,” Horne said, smiling. “Now they are much more depending, and are upset if trainers are not there.”
Horne attended Ithaca College for her undergraduate years, where she began as a physical education major. “I always thought that gym was fun, and I thought it would be even greater fun to teach how to have fun,” Horne explained “But then when I got to Ithaca, I hated it.” So, she became a physical education major with a concentration in student trainers.
When I asked Horne her favorite part about her job, she answered sincerely that she really loved learning anatomy; to this day, the puzzle of figuring out what is wrong with someone and how to fix it is still one of the joys of her job as a trainer. “The fun part about the field is that I kept learning. Things have kept evolving, which is what makes it challenging,” she said. She added that it was the challenging nature of the job that makes being a trainer fun. On that note, she said the most rewarding part of the job is making those athletes get better, being able to “Put them on the right path, then to see them get back out there.”
However, the job of being head trainer has not come without its struggles and drawbacks. The sheer number of athletes has led to increased hours. In addition, Horne explained, this sort of work is very “emotionally demanding… Because when you can fix [injuries], it feels great. But when you can’t – it feels awful.”
I asked Horne if there were any memories that really stood out to her from the nearly three full decades that she has been here. She pondered it, and then said, “Well, that’s really a weird question to answer, because the people that do this job are a little weird.” She went on to describe a few fractured necks of past Conn athletes. Apologizing for first thinking of the most negative memories, she further explained, “[Those sorts of injuries] leave a pit in your stomach. The first neck injury [I encountered] almost made me quit, because it really sticks with you.”
We are quite lucky that Horne did not depart Conn after that first serious neck injury she saw on the job. In 1985, Horne, along with three others, founded the Connecticut Athletic Trainers’ Association. She served as its first president in two separate two-year terms until 1990. Last June, she was officially inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame. In 1995, Horne was named the Connecticut Athletic Trainer of the Year. She is beyond deserving of these recognitions.
As for the future, Horne said, “I hope that the trainer’s room is a place where athletes trust us and will come for help, a place that’s safe.”
One only needs to step a foot into the trainer’s room to know this atmosphere has long since been created by Horne; though it is always bustling with activity, the training staff’s arms are likewise always open, ready to help.
“The College has been a great place to be,” Horne reflected. “It has provided so many learning opportunities… my one job. A great place to be.” Thank you, Cathy Horne, for your many years of making this college a great place to be. You will truly be missed.
Cathy is the worst.