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Pickering’s passion to help athletes
Published 10:43am Monday, January 16, 2012Brian Pickering has a passion for sports and loves his job. Pickering is the athletic trainer for Fergus Falls, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy, Battle Lake, Underwood and Ashby.
Growing up, Pickering’s parents were teachers and he knew he wanted to pursue a career where he was helping people, too. He started with a career in medicine and quickly fell in love with the medical field.
“I had a few friends who were going to school to be athletic trainers. One day I decided to tag along and I just knew that’s what I wanted to do. I got hooked,” said Pickering.
After graduating from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Wayne State College in Wayne, Neb., he started his career in 1999.
Pickering ended up taking a position in Fergus Falls on Oct. 3,
2011, as the new athletic trainer. “I live my job,” he said. “How great is it that any time I want to go to a game, I get in for free and get a front-row seat. And knowing that if something happens and someone gets hurt, I am there to help them in the crucial first 10 to 15 minutes of an injury. I assess them and get to make the decision if they need immediate care or if they can return to play.”
Pickering is not only assessing young athletes but he is looking at them differently then 10 years ago.
“I think that sport injures are being taken more seriously now compared to back when I started in this field,” he said. “My goal is to look at the injury, not only how to help it heal but how to prevent long-term problems. I want to be able to make sure these young kids can play with their children when they are 40 without having problems,” said Pickering.
“I have been blessed to have worked with so many great athletes over the years and some have gone on to play professional sports such as Nate Prosser with the Minnesota Wild, Corey Tropp with the Buffalo Sabres and Andreas Nodl with the Philadelphia Flyers.
“I’ve had the great opportunity of meeting some great people through my job and if it weren’t for it I probably would have never met them,” said Pickering.
