Bison Game Day: A circle of trust with head trainer, Bison players

FARGO — North Dakota State was in the middle of a bye week last week and the lower level of the Fargodome adjacent to the Bison locker room was quiet as a library. That s not normally how the head athletic trainer for the football team operates.

The Details

When Trisha Shannon graduated from Oklahoma State and decided that s what she was going to do for a living, also gone was a Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. work day. Asked what her day-to-day hours are and she laughed.

No further explanation needed. If detailed and accurate, the job description would be endless from injuries to mental health to illness. She once spent six hours with one player at a local walk-in clinic because of sickness.

It depends on what shows up that day, Shannon said. You definitely have a trust that they give you, just being that person for them. I ve seen some of these guys at their absolute worst. They know I m not ever going to judge them, I m going to do whatever I can to get them over that