Vince Fedorowich is the main athletic trainer for the Norfolk Admirals. Between attending college in Iowa to working with the Boston Red Sox to winning the Central Hockey Leagues trainer of the year, Fedorowich has had an interesting career and an interesting background. Tiger Times reporter Matthew Herrmann interviewed the Admiral's trainer while attending the team's scrimmage on October 6. Q: How would you describe your job as a whole? A: My job description... I basically deal with all the health-related aspects for this team. I deal with all the initial evaluations, emergency medicine, with everything, and I deal with the rehabilitations with the players, and some strength and conditioning. If anybody gets sick, I am the first person they come to, and then I direct care from there--whether they need to go and see our team doctor or if it’s a more serious injury, dealing with joints or bones--we have an ortho doctor as well. Q: What is the most common injury you see during the season? A: It’s kind of tough. Each year is a little bit different. Usually it’s better to say what type of injures they are as opposed to one specific injury. We usually have one shoulder, a broken hand, knee, and hip. Those four are the most common injuries. Q: What is the first thing you do when there is an injury on the ice, when there is blood on the ice? A: Well, if there is a situation where I’m looking and there is blood on the ice, the first thing I have to do is figure why there is blood coming out. It is an emergency at that stage and we must deal with it however we can. I’ve witnessed a situation where someone has gotten their jugular vein cut before, and the athletic trainer that was taking care of him did a great job and helped save the guys life. Q: Why do your shoes have special metal attachments on the bottoms and sides? A: Well, I knew an athletic trainer years ago who didn’t wear cleats and slipped on the ice when he was going out to deal with somebody and actually hurt himself. He got a concussion. So, from that experience, I said when I started working professional hockey full time, I was always going to wear cleats. So, these cleats allow me to walk or run if I want to. I generally walk when I’m out there, and it’s more of a hurried shuffle. So they help me keep traction on the ice. Q: What are some of your past experiences? Have you worked for any other teams? How did you get your degree as an athletic trainer and become a part of the Norfolk Admirals? A: I got my degree over at Graceland University over in Lamoni, Iowa. I then had an opportunity while over in Graceland with the Iowa Stars in the American Hockey League. I was just going over there and helping out on game night, and they needed a little extra help, so I just went over there to help out and watch professional hockey players and athletic trainers do their jobs. I did that, and I was lucky enough to obtain an internship with the Boston Red Sox in 2007, and with one of their Minor League affiliates, the Greenville Drive, in South Carolina. In 2007, I graduated over at ODU with a Masters in Science and Education with an emphasis in athletic training. While I was doing that, I was helping out with the Norfolk Admirals on game nights. I did a graduated assistantship over at Booker T. Washington High School. Then in 2009-2010, I was working at a high school in Northern Virginia called Centerville High School. I started my professional Hockey Career with the Quad City Mallards in the Central Hockey League in Illinois. I went to Prescott Valley, Arizona, to work with the Arizona Sun Dogs of the Central Hockey League. I was with the American Hockey League with the Atmospheric Heat during their last year of existence, then over in Bakersfield, and now I’m here. Q: Do you have any assistants? A: There are a lot of different people that help out with the team, but in my current position I don’t have assistants. However, I’m always looking for people that want to help out. We do have people that help us out on game days. We have locker room assistants that help on game nights, and as for the games themselves, we have doctors that are required for the games. Q: Do you travel with the team? Do the other teams bring their athletic trainers? A: Yes, I travel with them, and the other teams bring their trainers as well.