Inspire, Fall 2007

Inspire 13 Feature Daily team devotions were a way of life, recalls Connie. “I remember Maryalice talking to us girls in the locker room before playing an opponent. It was little, tiny Cedarville against some huge school. She would say, ‘We’re the little giants and God has brought us here.’ ” Most of all, Connie says, Maryalice Jeremiah and June Kearney “helped me understand and believe that, as a single Christian female, God would use me for His purposes.” Following graduation from Cedarville in 1973, Connie took a position as a physical education specialist and coach at the E.S. Weiant Starlight School for Mentally Retarded and Multi- Handicapped Individuals in Newark, Ohio. From there she took a position at Newark High School, her alma mater, teaching physical education classes and serving as head coach of the girls’ volleyball and track and field teams and assistant coach of the girls’ basketball team. She began working on a master’s degree in physical education with a specialization in athletic training at Indiana University, completing the requirements in 1981. Then the opportunity came along to work at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, as an assistant athletic trainer. Connie took the position at Liberty and served there for 11 years, eventually achieving the positions of director of sports medicine, head athletic trainer, and assistant professor of physical education. She left Liberty and headed to the University of Indianapolis in 1995. Now, as assistant professor of athletic training, director of the athletic training education program, and chair of the department of athletic training at the University of Indianapolis, Connie fondly looks back on how God unfolded her career as a Christian athletic trainer, coach, educator, and leader. Her years of service in the athletic training field have shaped her philosophy of academic counseling. “Athletic training is a calling,” she said. “It’s who I am and what I am called to be. And I tell that to every prospective athletic training student I meet.” In addition to the academic and leadership positions she’s held in her field, Connie has enjoyed participating in numerous athletic training activities and events. These include serving as athletic trainer for the Division II swimming and diving national championships, the World Police and Fire Games, and the World Gymnastics Championships. Her favorite event, however, was serving as athletic trainer at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, where she and her team provided sports medicine services for athletes in track and field. Watching the athletic training profession grow and develop has been a great joy to Connie. It is a field that fills a unique niche in the area of medical care. “This is far more than being a personal trainer; athletic trainers provide a valuable medical service to the athlete,” she said. They treat all kinds of injuries related to athletics, including caring for injuries to any joint in the human body. The work of athletic trainers is similar in some regards to that of physical therapists, but there are some key differences, explains Connie. One of the biggest differences is that athletic trainers are specially trained to evaluate and treat an injury on-site, usually just a few seconds or minutes after it happens. Physical therapists may not see the injured person until two to three days after the injury occurs. So where does the drive to be an athletic trainer come from? “Many athletic trainers say that their love for this field is just a part of them,” said Connie. “And it’s true. But the way to find and develop this and grow in the ability to serve others effectively is to get involved as much as possible. Join an athletic training organization at the state level and at the collegiate level. Get active! Now is the time to start making an impact!” Connie is thankful for God’s hand in her life, whether she’s providing instruction in the athletic training room or encouragement to a student in the hallway. “I’m always looking for an opportunity to exemplify Christ.” Connie Pumpelly serves the University of Indianapolis as athletic training department chair, director of the athletic training education program, and assistant professor of athletic training. She has worked at UIndy since 1995 and graduated from Cedarville University in 1973. Both UIndy and Cedarville offer athletic training programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education. You can reach Connie at 317-831-9781 or cpumpelly@uindy.edu . Mark Kakkuri ’93 is a freelance writer who currently resides in Oxford, Michigan, with his wife, Jocelyn Scharfe Kakkuri ’95 and their four children, Harrison, Jack, Grace, and Kate. Mark’s works have been published in Focus on the Family’s Breakaway , Sports Spectrum , The Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition , and more. He is also the editor of The Fear of God: A Forgotten Doctrine (Ventura, California: Nordskog Publishing, 2007). Mark is a graduate of Cedarville University’s communication arts program and served as a writer on the Cedarville public relations team from 1993 to 1996. You can reach him via e-mail at mark@soundwriting.org . I