“Strive for greatness in all that you do.” A message from Mr. Cacciola to the students of AB. Our athletic trainer has been with us for 24 years and has motivated and supported many AB students to achieve their goals. His expertise and engagement has helped AB students return to the field with newfound strength but also created a positive environment for students to seek support. In honor of his retirement, we conducted an interview with Mr. C to reminisce about the good times, the bad times and the inbetween at AB and preview what’s to come. Mr. C’s career began in 1981, when he graduated college from Northeastern University as a physical education and health major. He got into an athletic training event through the football program at college and ended up learning more about anatomy and physiology prepared him for the athletic trainer exam. He passed! Ever since then he has been a certified trainer which he maintains through recertification every two years. He was not inspired by anything specifically, but he enjoyed combining sports with medicine. Working with motivated athletes and dedicated coaches made everything fall into place. Not only does he have his athletic trainer certification he is also a certified EMT. Right out of college, in 1982, he landed a job at Bedford High School where he taught physical education and was an athletic trainer. However, in 2002 he started at AB and has been here ever since. Having been at AB since 2002, Mr. C has seen it all! What stood out for him was his experience with the 2002-2005 football program. Over the course of these 3 years, the team had won 52 games in a row and got the state record. The team just kept on winning football games.
According to Mr. C, what made it so special was “seeing everybody be successful.” He adds, “I like winning but I also like athletes to achieve and succeed. Coaches and I are here to see students achieve and succeed, not only in sports but in life.” Not only is Mr. C an athletic trainer but also a life coach! His supportive view has been integral in the athletic community at AB. There have been an endless amount of fun times, however Mr. C has dealt with just as many injured students. When recalling the worst injury he has seen, he describes a tragic incident at a girls’ basketball game 10 years ago. A collision during the game had caused a break to the tibia, fibula and two lower leg bones of a player. She suffered a compound fracture, which essentially meant that the entire leg was deformed. These moments require intense focus, in this scenario, Mr. C’s first thought was to keep her immbole, pack the ice for her and call for paramedics to come and provide her with IVs for her pain and to do his best to keep everyone under control. Being a youth basketball game, it was crowded with girls everywhere and everyone had to be evacuated due to the pressure of the situation. Ultimately, his goal was to keep things under control. His years of experience as an athletic trainer have taught him countless lessons about the job, he categorizes them into 3 major sections: verbal, hands-on, and relationships. Verbal means you have to talk and listen a lot, about the patient’s symptoms, context of the injury and even just making conversation allowing the student to feel comfortable! He continues to explain hands-on, how healing students requires a lot of physical touch and also stamina for carrying supplies and staying on his feet to help all the time. As he says “there are no days off” and he “always has to show up” which he always does. He is there when the students need him and this makes a positive difference in the community.
He works extremely hard to make sure the students are taken care of and helped which helps AB perform better in competition. But over time, Mr. C has adapted and updated his approach to training over the years. To help athletes even more, he has learned about athletic rehab, anatomy, conditioning, the importance of rolling out and strength training. It changed a lot over the years and supplemented his advice for athletes. Most importantly Mr.C tells us that he has learned to evaluate injuries a lot better, “there is always a learning curve, you’re always learning. If you’re not learning, you’re losing.” To conclude our interview, we asked Mr. C about what he will remember from his time as an athletic trainer at AB. He responded that he would cherish working daily with student athletes and coaches and carry on his skills of great time management and work ethic and “all that good stuff”. In terms of the athletes, he hopes they remember to be kind to others, to “strive for greatness in all that you do” as well as “have an attitude of gratitude”. For his retirement, Mr.C plans to spend more time with his wife, Paula, who he has been married to for 40 years. According to Mr. C, his goal “is not to aggravate her everyday”. He will continue his work with athletes, but with his grandchildren, Leah, Evan and Maya, he describes how his role going forward is to teach them how to pray, how to be kind to others and how to play in sports. “I want to kind of coach them and help them with sports. I want them to understand that, just like in high school, you are playing for fun and for friendships. You are not playing to become a pro athlete. You’re playing because it’s fun and you are going to make some great friendships just like kids have here at AB.” Finally, we asked him what his final words would be to AB students: “Thank you very much. It’s been unbelievable. Student athletes, you are a pleasure to work with.
And you will carry over your athletic time here in AB and be very successful in life because you know how to work and how to s ucceed. You are going to have great futures, and I only wish the best for you.” Mr. C is a very important member of our AB community. He’s always there – whether it is helping you with your injuries and any other problems you have. For us, whenever we needed anything sports injury related, whether it was getting some electrolytes or taping you up, Mr. C was always there whenever we needed him. He will be dearly missed from our school, and he will forever hold a special place in our hearts. We cannot express how much of a help you have been, how many people you have helped, so many of us students. Beyond just helping us, you also educated us on keeping ourselves safe. You have been one of our best memories during our time so far at AB, and your impact will last forever. Thank you Mr. C!
