This year’s Medco 2024-25 catalog featured sports medicine team brought us to the sunny West Coast just outside of Anaheim, California, on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Fullerton College, established in 1913, is a junior college that has 22 sports on their roster, bringing young athletes from all over the country with big dreams for their athletic careers.
Fullerton’s Favorites
Three Athletic Trainers co-lead the charge for the sports medicine team at Fullerton, each with vastly different backgrounds yet similar approaches to athlete care. First is Juan Cuevas, ATC, an immigrant from Mexico and Fullerton alumnus who found his passion for athletic training as a freshman in high school when he helped his cousin who hurt his knee; he has gone on to be a preceptor for Fullerton, California State University, and Cal Baptist University, teaching the next generation of athletic trainers in addition to providing care to Fullerton’s athletes. He is entering his 18th year with Fullerton and is one of only three male ATs in Fullerton's history. He earned his bachelor’s in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Athletic Training from CSUF in 2000.
Joining Cuevas in 2014 was Lorena Tarnay, MS, ATC, CSCS, who grew up in a small California town and originally had plans of being an orthopedic surgeon before discovering athletic training in her first week of junior college, where she immediately fell in love with the profession. She went on to get her masters in sports psychology and has worked in the high school, collegiate, semi-professional, and physical therapy realms, where her passion for athletic training continued to grow. Tarnay earned her bachelor’s in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Athletic Training from California Polytechnic State University in 2002 and her master’s in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sports Psychology in 2005.
Sandra Harris, MS, ATC, is the most recent co-lead to join the sports medicine team at Fullerton. She has a background in performing arts and stumbled upon athletic training during a college work study with the football team, where she saw an AT in action for the first time. She’s been all-in ever since, bringing her athletic training to stunt performers, elite dancers, actors, and performers at major theme parks before returning to the football field. Harris earned her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and Master of Science in Athletic Training in five years through Chapman University.
Despite their different introductions to the field of athletic training, the three of them all have a strong focus on athlete rehabilitation. Their favorite rehab modality to use with their athletes has been the Therm-X, which allows them to do both heat and cold therapy treatments. Tarnay has recently been trained in blood flow restriction and is excited to introduce Suji to her rehabilitation regimens, a portable, cable-free BFR training device that connects to an app for trackable results. A favorite among the athletes is the Venom 2 heat and massage wearables, which allow them to move freely while still providing muscle pain relief.
While Cuevas, Tarnay, and Harris all have a passion for athletic training, they have an even bigger passion for their athletes. Cuevas put it plainly when he said, “What I love about [athletic training] is seeing my students succeed.” Tarnay and Harris echoed his sentiments, adding that their profession isn’t just about athlete rehabilitation, but about making an impact on the athletes as they grow. Tarnay, with her interest in sports psychology, mentioned the importance of comprehensive care, addressing both the physical and mental health of the athlete. The culture they’ve cultivated at Fullerton has helped foster this kind of care, creating a safe space for athletes.
“We have a culture where walking in here doesn’t mean you’re weak or being a baby. You come in here when you’re injured, and we get you out quickly,” said Tarnay. “We really encourage people to come in here and take care of their bodies.”
Harris adds that being an athletic trainer at the junior college level puts her in a unique position to help athletes as they transition to the next steps in their lives. “You get to see them grow, see where they end up,” she said. “You get to mold minds – the things you do here, this could be their first experience with an athletic trainer. It’s really powerful – you make an impact on them, and I think that’s really cool.”
With the 22 sports offered at Fullerton College, the three of them are busy all year providing care to their athletes. And while their facilities aren’t big – they work out of two small athletic training rooms – the three of them work to ensure each athlete walks out better than before.
“There are champions that come out of this room,” Cuevas said. “You don’t have to have big, fancy facilities to be able to provide the care the athletes deserve and for them to be successful.”
To learn more about Fullerton and their sports medicine team, visit www.fchornets.com.
Did You Know? Fullerton has a Podcast!
The AT Corner podcast, co-hosted by Fullerton’s own Sandra Harris, helps bridge the gap between the textbook and real life. Get educational content that will improve your practice while simultaneously hearing real-life stories and applications and stories from other Athletic Trainers like you!
