Imagine spending 16 years in the minor leagues, working and waiting for your shot at being called up to the big leagues.
Ashland University graduate
Andy Stover did his time as an athletic trainer in the Colorado Rockies organization, and now, he is in his first season as an assistant athletic trainer with the big club.
"It's busy. It's fun, but it's busy," Stover said. "It's really not that different than what I've been doing for the last 16 years. It's just on a bigger stage."
Stover, originally from nearby Shelby, Ohio, graduated from Ashland in 2001 with degrees in both athletic training and biology. He learned at the feet of
Brian Siddall, the Eagles' head athletic trainer at the time.
"Andy and I first connected at summer student trainer camp for high school students I directed during my tenure at AU," Siddall recalled. "Moving forward, we stayed in contact, and I recruited Andy to attend AU and be member of student trainer staff. Andy had a passion for learning and motivation to become the best athletic trainer he could be.
"One thing that stood out about Andy was his wanting to know the why behind the everyday decisions made - injury evaluation, rehab protocol, playing status, how to plan and pack equipment for away contests, how to have athletes develop trust in you, etc. I knew Andy's work ethic and ability to listen and observe would serve him well in his career. I certainly admire Andy's perseverance working his way up in the Rockies organization. Like most successful people, Andy has very supportive parents who have guided him in both his professional and personal life."
Said Stover, "Once I knew I wanted to be an athletic trainer, I knew the major leagues was my goal. I went to camps at AU, and I met Sid, and I knew this is what I wanted to do. It was my ultimate career goal."
Stover then earned his master's degree at Defiance College, and started his professional career as an AT intern with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2015. Ever since, he's been in the Rockies chain, and during that move toward the major leagues, he was named the Northwest League Athletic Trainer of the Year by his peers in 2008 and 2009, and he earned the 2020 P.J. Carey Player Development Award as the top player development staff member in Rockies organization.
The path for an athletic trainer to move up the professional baseball ranks is similar to that of a player, and it's at the same time quite different.
"It's similar. Obviously, players are going to move up a lot quicker based on talent and need," said Stover. "With staff, it's a little different. We have very little movement in our staff, because we have a good staff. And we have a good staff because there has been very little movement.
"At the big-league level, there's been very little movement because it's a constant, consistent, well-working staff. You pay your dues, and you hope eventually you get your chance."
Once Stover was promoted to the Rockies, which he was last fall, there still was one holdup to his starting with the major-league team – the Major League Baseball lockout.
"Everyone said from the very beginning that your first year in the big leagues is going to be memorable, and you're never going to forget it," Stover said. "We couldn't have any contact with the major-league players. We literally just sat there and waited for things to resolve.
"We were able to still plan for minor-league spring training, and prepared things for the major-league side when they said we were going to go. It was a lot of planning, but we couldn't do anything until the very last minute."
Being an athletic trainer in professional sports means long hours for several months each year. A strong support system is a must, and Stover has just that in wife Lauren, and sons Alex, Zach and Carter.
"My whole family has been very supportive throughout my entire career," Stover said. "My wife has paid her dues along with me. She's made every move with me…she's sacrificed a lot so I could chase my dream. My parents, her parents, our kids, are nothing but very supportive."
Stover looks back fondly on his time at Ashland, and says AU "was the foundation of everything for what I've done in my career. Sid, he was my first mentor. He showed me and taught me what it was to be an athletic trainer, to be a professional. AU, as an entire experience, was really the foundation for what I am today."
AU
GEN/DS
