Home

Vail — On-call 24/7. World travel required. Must be willing to be cold.

That could be the job description for Eagle resident Brandie Yeik, an athletic trainer with Howard Head Sports Medicine Center who just spent the ski season traveling with the U.S. women's alpine ski team.

This year, Yeik's work with the team took her to Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, New Zealand and Alaska, as well as snagged her front row seats to watch U.S. skiers such as Sarah Schleper and Lindsey Vonn come screaming across finish lines.

"As an athletic trainer, I could not think of a better job," said Yeik, who works in Howard Head's Eagle clinic during the off-season. "I am traveling and working with professional athletes half the year, and the other half is spent working with a world-renowned physical therapy clinic.

"I don't think any other country's ski team has such a strong network of physical therapists and athletic trainers working with them."

Perks of the job

Yeik is one of several trainers and therapists that the Howard Head clinic, which sponsors the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, sends to work with the teams. Their jobs include helping racers prevent injuries, attending practices, massaging and stretching the athletes, and being available for any other medical problems.

It isn't uncommon to be woken up at 3 a.m. if an athlete isn't feeling well, Yeik said.

The job also can involve four or five hours on the mountain for practices and eight or nine hours on race days.

"It can be some long hours," she admitted, laughing. "But I have boot warmers."

The job takes the therapists around the world. Yeik said she's been able to tour places that were on her dream list, including Venice and Milan.

Edwards resident Shannon Irish, a physical therapist who worked with the U.S. snowboardcross team at several World Cup events, made her first visits to Japan, Korea and Chile this season.

Working with the team adds variety to the job and is a good balance for time spent working in the clinic, Irish said.

The teams "are lots of fun to work with, and it's so different from working in the clinic, which I also enjoy, but this really adds variety," she said. "I mainly snowboard, too, so it's really interesting for me."

The job also requires adapting to new environments and unexpected situations, the trainers said. Yeik remembered being at a race this season in Alaska during the volcanic eruption of Mount Redoubt and a blizzard.

"There were 103 inches of snowfall over those few days," she said. "It was just crazy to see ash and snow falling at the same time. They just tried to get as many races off as they could."

Reveling in team success

Despite the demands of the work, both specialists said the best reward is to see their teams do well in competition.

After days of working with the snowboardcross team, treating sore muscles and attending early morning practices, Irish watched her team stand on the podium to receive the sport's top honors.

Under the lights, U.S. snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis took first place, and several of the men's snowboarders also took podium spots at the World Cup event in Austria this January.

"It's exciting to be there with them," said Irish. "When one of our athletes wins, it's great just to be there and know that you've helped them."

While the trainers and therapists work out of the spotlight, their specialized treatment and medical expertise is key for the teams, said Richard Quincy, medical director for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association.