Cameron Laffoon, Sports Editor
For the first time in 27 years, Penn-Trafford will be without Larry Cooper in the classroom, on the sideline or in the training room next year. He will be retiring from being a physical education teacher, sports medicine teacher and an athletic trainer following this year.
Whether it is something as simple as stretching out a player during a leg cramp or something as serious as saving someone’s life, plenty of athletes have benefitted from Cooper. If you are wondering, he really did save a student’s life.
“A kid cut his jugular with a plate glass window in 1988-89, and I took my shirt off and applied direct pressure. My student trainer knew by the scream that it was significant and called 911. The emergency room physician said in another 15-30 seconds the kid would have been dead,” said Cooper.
That is the type of impact he can have on someone’s life given his position. Another form of impact that may not be as significant, but still very important is shown in the amount of student trainers that have made careers in the medical field.
Cooper estimates that about two dozen of his student trainers have become athletic trainers, physical therapists, orthopedic surgeons and occupational therapists.
This may mark the end of his career at P-T, but Cooper will remain involved in athletic training at the national level. He was recently elected as the Secretary of National Athletic Trainers Association for District II which encompasses New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Cooper has been well-known as an athletic trainer in his career by colleagues and athletes, but that is not what he will miss most about his time at P-T.
“I think what I’m going to miss the most is the relationships that you develop with players, students and coaches. Those relationships are what make your job, and I will miss those the most,” said Cooper.
As for the future of the athletic training department, Cooper predicts that Jennifer Smith will take over the head trainer job, but he does not like to use the term “head athletic trainer”.
“It is really not head athletic trainer because we work together and bounce ideas off of each other. Mrs. Smith always said that I was the voice of the program, so now she will probably become the voice of the program,” said Cooper.
He has also pleaded to the school board about the importance of replacing him with a third athletic trainer, and he expects them do this next year.
He has had a massive impact on the students he has treated and helped return from injury.
“When you see a kid from a starter to bench player and help them get better and get back to doing something that they love to do. Those are the enjoyable moments,” said Cooper.
Cooper will not be completely retiring from athletic training, but his time at P-T is coming to an end, and he will be sorely missed.