by Jay Wrolstad

IC’s athletic training program has been called "the best in the country" — and its director has made the state and national halls of fame.

Ask Peter Youngman ’86 (in photo above with player Nick Anderson) how he made it to the NBA, and he credits perseverance, a lengthy stint in baseball’s bush leagues — and the education he received at Ithaca. Now head trainer for the Sacramento Kings pro basketball team, Youngman says of Ithaca College’s athletic training program: "It’s the best in the country."

Other grads who have gone on to exciting careers in athletic training concur. And the recent election of IC’s athletic training program director Kent Scriber ’72 to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and New York State Athletic Trainers’ Association Halls of Fame (accepting award in photo) shows that the program is being noticed nationally. These awards add to the accolades posted in Scriber’s Hill Center office and are a tribute to 25 years spent developing a top-notch curriculum.

"It’s a good reflection on the College and the program," says Scriber modestly. "I don’t really consider it an individual award." Scriber is coordinator of the athletic training education program, supervisor of athletic training, and professor and chair of exercise and sport sciences. He gets great satisfaction from working directly with the College’s football and baseball teams. And he’s proud of former students like Youngman who have taken what they’ve learned at IC and advanced the profession of conditioning and healing athletes.

Youngman has been the Kings’ head trainer for five years. He says that his undergraduate experience with the football and wrestling teams was invaluable. After graduating, he spent nine years working with minor league teams in the Boston Red Sox baseball organization. "That was great, especially Class A baseball," he says. "The guys try so hard. We got to know each other."

And now he loves working with the Kings. "I work with the same group of people all year, and we develop personal as well as professional relationships," he says. "I like the challenge of getting the players back on the court, and believe it or not, I like the travel."

Youngman’s best advice to someone pursuing a training career in the big leagues? "Get as much education as you can — and don’t expect to move right into the majors."

Photo of NBA Playoffs, © NBA photos
Photo of awards, courtesy NATA