Alumnus Lives Out the Chance of a Lifetime: Being an Athletic Trainer for a Professional Basketball Team
By Whitney Murphy

Over 150 college graduates applied for the athletic training internship with the Portland Trailblazers. Tyler Assmus, '05, landed the job. Equipped with an athletic training degree from Whitworth, he is the youngest intern the Blazers have ever hired.

"I love working with the athletes and being part of an NBA team. I basically have courtside season tickets and have gotten to see Shaq (O'Neal), Kobe (Bryant), and LeBron (James) from two feet away."

In his senior year, Assmus never imagined he would get to see the NBA's top players from anywhere closer than the average-priced seat in the stands, let alone be taping their ankles. Instead, he was convinced he would attend graduate school somewhere back East, and was excited to experience a different part of the country.

His plans changed, temporarily.

Assmus found himself with an opportunity most athletic training majors only dream about: working with and treating professional athletes.

"I am at every practice and game helping the players and training staff wherever I can. With this job, I basically do everything I am asked… from taping an ankle to picking up future prospects from the airport. I try to take care of all the small stuff so that the head and assistant trainers don't have to worry about it," he said.

The internship of a lifetime also has its downsides, however: living alone, having little to no free time, and, of course, dealing with the stereotypical duties placed on any low man on the totem pole.

Despite the obstacles in his job and the nonstop rain, Assmus loves the atmosphere and experience of living in Portland. When he does have a spare moment, he enjoys going downtown and walking among the city's old buildings. But when it comes down to it, he really just loves working with athletes.

"After graduating from the athletic training program at Whitworth, I know I will be in sports the rest of my life."

Although he considers being chosen as the Blazers' intern his greatest accomplishment since college, Assmus does not plan to continue with the NBA team after this year. He is applying to graduate school and hopes to work with a university basketball program.

Since working as the head student trainer of the Whitworth men's basketball team his senior year, he finds that basketball has remained a steady variable in his athletic training career.

"If I could do anything in the world for a profession, I would play professional basketball. These guys have an easy life, and I love basketball."

Unfortunately, Assmus' dream of being a professional athlete is not his calling. Yet his love for basketball has already provided him with extraordinary opportunities in his young professional life, many of which could easily lure a 23-year-old male into a career-driven life working in professional sports.

Cast in the shadow of professional athletics, the 80 percent divorce rate among those with careers in professional sports includes athletes and non-athletes in the industry, according to the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

Assmus is well aware of the statistic, but has higher priorities and a vision of where he will be five years from now.

"I hope I will have a job as an assistant athletic trainer, be married to my beautiful girlfriend, and we'll be starting a life together. In 10 years, I would hope that I would still be an assistant somewhere, maybe even a head trainer."

Leaving his job with the Blazers and the many perks that come with the position will not be easy. Those perks include traveling this summer with the team to Las Vegas, Nev., for league camp where all expenses are paid and he will have a luxurious suite all to himself. But the friends and connections he has made will be the hardest part to walk away from.

"The people I work with are amazing and really make me feel like a part of the Blazer family, and not just an intern," he said.