AMCC COMMUNITY ALL-STAR: UPB'S EATON COMBINES SKILLS TO KEEP SLOPES SAFE

Pitt-Bradford athletic trainer John Eaton knows firsthand what Sir Isaac Newton was talking about when he said "What goes up must come down."

For the past eight years, Eaton has been a member of the Holiday Valley ski patrol.  As a member of the National Ski Patrol, he volunteers 2 shifts a week during the winter months looking out for ski enthusiasts who find it easy to get up the mountain, but often dangerously challenging coming down.

"Most of the time, it's someone who is just going beyond their ability," he explained.  "They are going too fast on terrain they don't know, they catch an edge on their ski or board, and either hit a tree, the ground or another skiier."

While professionally trained to deal with injury in his day job, Eaton, like all ski patrol members, is required to to take a 6 month Outdoor Emergency Care training course that covers injury response and treatment, and to attend annual recertifications.  But before any of that can even happen, a patrol member must be evaluated for their skiing ability.  Only experts need apply.

Count Eaton in that category. An avid skiier since he was six years old, Eaton is the youngest of six siblings who grew up in Portville, NY, near Olean and New York's southern tier ski country.  It was a family affair when the snow fell, and the baby of the bunch was expected to join in.  He developed both a love and an expertise for the sport that now allows him to apply his career skills in a new way.

Eaton was encouraged to apply for the ski patrol by the team orthopedic surgeon at Bradford High School where Eaton worked before coming to UPB.  "You actually have to go through tryouts to prove your skiing ability before they will even consider letting you move on to the medical safety training," he said.

In addition to skiing, all patrol members must be trained to pull a tobboggan over all types of terrain, working as a team with up to three members.

In the course of his eight years, Eaton has seen a variety of musculoskeletal injuries, everything from head trauma to broken bones to dislocations.  "Even though I am a certified athletic trainer, Pitt-Bradford does not have any high impact sports like football or ice hockey," he said, "so what I see on the slopes really keeps me on my toes.  It's helped me significantly as an athletic trainer."

Ironically, he is one of the few ski patrol members with formal medical training outside of the OEC training.  "I work with folks from all walks of life," he said.  "We share of love of skiing and a desire to help others.  There is a lot of pride in what we do."