Archbold Medical Center| Archives Magazine | Spring 2018

ARCHBOLD.ORG • SPRING 2018 11 suffered an ankle injury halfway through the sea- son against Berrien County, there was concern he might have been out for the season. “We ended up diagnosing JT with a high ankle sprain,” said Taylor Miller, Archbold’s athletic trainer. “But we believed his injury wasn’t a season-ender. We spent a lot of time with him at our outpatient facility, and he only missed one game.” “I firmly believe that JT would have missed more than one game had it not been for the Archbold athletic training staff on the field to assess his condition and later provide the right therapy for him,” said Grage. Above and beyond “Taylor has a great relationship with Archbold’s physical therapists and doctors, so the diagnosis of injuries, like JT’s, and plans to get our players back in playing shape are executed in an ex- tremely efficient manner,” Grage said. “Taylor and Archbold are phenomenal,” said Joni Rice, JT’s mother. “We could not have asked for a better person to care for JT. JT is stubborn when it comes to playing, and he did not want to let his team down by coming out of the game. Taylor stayed on top of his injury during the game to make sure he was not overdoing it.” “The staff at Archbold has gone above and beyond the call of duty to make sure our players are a priority,” Grage said. “They always make time for our players to get the care they need.” Archbold hosts a Saturday clinic during football season to triage and assess injuries from Friday night games. Athletic trainers and physical therapists meet the players the morning after the game to evaluate injuries so athletes don’t have to wait until Monday to start the medical care process. Kevon Shy, one of Thomasville’s wide receivers, battled minor injuries throughout the season, as well. “Kevon was at every Saturday clinic to work on those specific injuries, enabling him to be at full strength at practices and games throughout our season,” said Grage. “Taylor is the best trainer an athlete could ask for,” said Kevon. “She cares so much about us, and she makes sure that we’re taken care of and prepared for the next game.” While Kevon missed the last two games of the regular season due to an acromioclavicular (AC) joint injury, Grage fully believes that Kevon would have been able to rejoin the team if they had beat Heard County in the playoffs. JT Rice, quarterback for Thomasville High School’s football team, got back in the game without delay, thanks to Archbold’s Outpatient Rehab and Sports Medicine team. JT will play both football and baseball at Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, Kansas, next year. —Continued on page 12