Samuel Dalena

Background

About Samuel Dalena

I currently work as an assistant athletic trainer at the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), home to 28 NCAA Division teams. I am responsible for covering football, women’s volleyball, indoor and outdoor track and field, women’s lacrosse and men’s and women’s swimming and diving, though do cover others as needed. I treat injuries ranging from minor sprains to life threatening medical emergencies, such as subdural hematomas and splenic perforations, for example. My position in a military institution provides me a unique perspective: one that parallels the intensity of high level athletic programs. Just as routine injuries may elicit extreme secondary effects (‘career enders’) for an athlete striving to compete professionally, each of my athletes is first and foremost a cadet of the USCG and expected to serve after graduation. A simple injury could prove sufficient for medical disqualification, essentially halting an athlete’s military career track.