The new athletic training department at Heritage says they are dedicated to keeping the athletes at their healthiest.

Taran Sharpe and Jim Kurowski are the two new training coaches who have some goals in mind for the program.

Our two trainers said they feel accomplished when athletes recover fully and get back to playing the sports they love most in the same manner football coaches feel when their team makes it to state

“If we get somebody back and they’re playing at their full capability, that’s our state game,” said Coach Sharpe.

Both of the coaches have gained a lot of experience from their years in the field.

“I kind of started when I was in high school, I didn’t really have plans to be an athletic trainer, or work in sports medicine. I kind of started out playing football and football just wasn’t my thing….then the school hired a part time staff athletic trainer, so I started working with her, and I liked it,” said Coach Kurowski.

From there he went on to Oklahoma State University and multiple high schools, adding up to almost 14 years in the field.

Coach Sharpe has been in the field almost as long as Coach Kurowski.

“I started my first year in college which was in August of 2005, so I’m right [at] about the ten year mark. I’ve been a certified and licensed athletic trainer since 2009,” said Coach Sharpe.

They said they both have a passion for sports medicine from their time in the field.

“I love the body and I love sports, so it kind of mixes the two, and to watch how the body moves, being able to help athletes…it’s a lot of hard work but it’s a lot of fun,” said Coach Sharpe.

The new trainers said they want their hard work to pay off by teaching injured athletes more about their bodies.

“I really like to help educate not only our athletic training students, but also the people who are injured… so this is kind of like a long-term type of deal how to take care of yourself,” said Coach Sharpe.