Gina Fritz, MS, ATC

When Gina was younger, she had an injury that required her to perform physical therapy and rehab at the Orthopedic Institute. “I was here at 6 a.m. almost every morning trying to recover,” said Gina. Fast forward over a decade, after completing her degree in Athletic Training from South Dakota State University and working on finishing up her master’s thesis, she is now an athletic trainer working for the doctor that helped her recover so many years ago.

Gina is the full-time athletic trainer at Madison Central High School. She works with both high school and middle school athletes in a variety of sports including, football, volleyball, cross country, tennis, golf, basketball, wrestling, gymnastics, and track. Her time at schools helped her realize that being an athletic trainer is not limited to treating just the physical injuries of students. Often, trainers are there to be a listening ear and guide athletes through situations that may be mentally tough. “The relationships athletic trainers build with student-athletes are ones that last a lifetime,” Gina said.