Merrow Named Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer
KEENE, N.H. 02/01/06 - A mainstay on the Keene State College sidelines, Bob Merrow has seen his fair share of bruises, sprains, and broken bones and, as an honorary member of Owl teams, has witnessed the glory of victory and the pain of defeat. However, after years in the background, the College’s head athletic trainer stood with his own five-member squad and finally captured a trophy - as the first-ever New Hampshire Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer of the Year.
A 19-year Owl veteran, Merrow was recognized by the New Hampshire Athletic Training Association (NHATA) for outstanding service to the field at the 58th Annual Eastern Athletic Trainers Association (EATA) Convention held in Philadelphia, Pa., on January 7-10. Modest in his accomplishment, Merrow, the consummate team-player, is quick to credit his peers for this award. “It’s embarrassing in a way,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve been surrounded by wonderful people over the years and it’s those associates that have helped me achieve this honor.”
Included in that crowd are Gordon Coole, Jr. (Phillips-Exeter), Dr. Marjorie King (Plymouth State University), Dan Sedory (University of New Hampshire- Durham), and former KSC grad Linda Zoller-McKibbin ‘76 (Alice Peck Day Hospital), who make up the five-man roster honored not only for their contribution to athletic training, but also for their hand in founding the NHATA.
“A state athletic trainer’s association did not exist in New Hampshire when I came to Keene State in 1986,” said Merrow. “The five of us, among others, laid the foundation and got it off the ground.”
Merrow said the motivation for the nonprofit organization was to create a vehicle for networking, an opportunity for continuing education, and a service-oriented association that offered scholarships to students. Ultimately, the NHATA became a professional organization that included Granite State athletic trainers from every level - high school, college and university, private, and clinical.
“It wasn’t so much that I was a major player in creating the organization,” Merrow said. “I was a small fraction of a talented group of individuals, and that’s why it was nice that we all received this award.”
Originally from Bedford, N.H., Merrow received his first taste of athletic training as an undergraduate majoring in physical education and coaching at Plymouth State College. After graduating from PSC, he taught physical education and coached football, track and field, and baseball at St. Bernard’s High School in Fitchburg, Mass., where practicum quickly met reality.
“Because I was a PE teacher and had a pretty strong background in first aid at the time, teachers would send injured students to me because the nurse wasn’t there every day,” he said.
It was then Merrow decided athletic training was his “field of dreams.” After three years at St. Bernard’s, he resigned and relocated to West Virginia to accept a graduate assistant position in sports medicine at Marshall University. “It was difficult because I had to stop working full-time so that I could go back to school, but I knew it was the right decision.”
After earning his trainer certification, Merrow trekked back to New England, where he spent three years as head athletic trainer at the University of Maine-Presque Isle before making his way to Keene State, where he now provides athletic training for Owl athletic teams and collaborates with the physical education department in overseeing the athletic training certification (ATC) in the academic program.
“Keene State has a great ATC program,” said Merrow. “It’s been so rewarding to see how well many of our students have done.” Among that list of successful KSC athletic trainer alums, Merrow acknowledges Barclay Dugger ‘89, head athletic trainer at Springfield (Mass.) College. “It’s quite an honor because Springfield has such an exceptional program in athletic training,” he said. “That one of our own is the head person there really is a credit to Keene State’s academic program.”
Long-time coaches Ron Butcher and Charlie Beach, who head men’s soccer and softball teams respectively, believe Merrow’s dedication to treating student- athletes on the field and developing pupils in the classroom are immeasurable.
“We always talk about leadership in my coaching class,” said Butcher. “Bob instills leadership in his student workers from day one.” “He’s very efficient in trying to get our athletes to the next level of rehabilitation; to get them back in the game,” Butcher added. “But he’s also very honest with you - if an athlete can’t play, he’ll let us know.”
Coach Beach seconds that sentiment. “Bob’s been supportive of all of our athletes for years,” he said. “He is extremely competent in getting them rehabilitated and back into action as quickly as possible without putting them in danger.”
It’s a daunting task for anyone to head an athletic trainer program, but Merrow describes it as “a very unique health care profession. Unlike physical therapists or doctors who work in group settings, athletic trainers obtain their education and clinical experience, graduate and become board certified, join the work force, and then they’re all alone.”
The importance of staying connected with fellow trainers is, in some ways, their lifeline. “When we’re on the field, we have major decisions that need to be made,” Merrow said. “Because we’re working by ourselves a majority of the time, it’s important to refer back to mentors and others we’ve met in the industry - so it’s a close-knit group.”
It’s that camaraderie that makes it so special for Merrow and his fellow honorees to be honored as New Hampshire’s first-ever Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer of the Year.
