By Reese McBride

Most Bellbrook athletes are familiar with our athletic trainer. Maybe you see her to get taped up before Friday Night Lights or iced after a hard volleyball game. Maybe you came to her busy room for a concussion test, or just to say hello. No matter what the reason is, Mandy Woll is sure to listen and help you to the best of her ability.

Mandy Woll has been Bellbrook High School’s athletic trainer for about a year and a half. She describes herself as a “very compassionate person, and definitely about making sure that everybody is in the right mindset. I’m a very approachable person.” 

Woll has been an athlete her entire life. In high school, she was trying to figure out what she wanted to do when she found out she could take an anatomy class. She fell in love and decided to see what jobs she could use anatomy in. “[Athletic training] had two things that I liked to do, help people and watch sports,” Woll said. However, Woll doesn’t just focus on the physical side of athletes. She also helps with what goes on inside their heads. 

Recently, Woll put up a poster in Miami Valley Stadium that has the new number for the National Suicide Hotline (988). “I’ve had a lot of friends go through mental health issues, and I know my friends in high school went through a lot. I just wanted to make sure that all the athletes here knew that I was here for them and that they have another source if they wanted to go outside of their friend or family group,” Woll said. She stressed that athletes from any sport can come to her and that she would be there for them. 

Woll recommends students interested in an athletic training career should take an anatomy or sports medical class in high school. “I’m always here to answer questions for students on what to do and I also have this program here where students can come and shadow me to see if they want to do what I do.”