Parsley joins Hendrix College as athletic trainer

Aaron Parsley has joined the Hendrix College staff as an assistant athletic trainer. Parsley began his new position with the Conway-based school Monday, Aug. 17.

A 2004 Rector High School graduate, Parsley says he wanted to choose a career which kept him involved in sports, which have been a big part of the 23-year-old's life.

During his time as a Cougar, Parsley was a standout athlete for the football, baseball and track teams.

After high school, he attended Arkansas State University. As a freshman, he initially was unsure of what he wanted to study, but decided on athletic training once he learned more about the field.

"Really, I hadn't even heard of it (athletic training) until I went to college," Parsley said. "As I learned more about it, I decided that's what I wanted to do. I got hurt a lot in sports, so I thought I'd help people come back from that."

Parsley completed his undergraduate studies at ASU, then went to the University of Virginia, where he earned his Master's in Athletic Training. He then did graduate work at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) as part of its prestigious program. VMI is perennially ranked among the nation's top 100 schools in terms of academic challenge. Parsley was one of only 16 candidates accepted by VMI out of thousands of applicants.

While at VMI, Parsley worked closely with the men's soccer team, a sport with which he was not particularly familiar at first.

"I guess you could say that was my first real exposure to soccer," Parsley said. "I have more appreciation for soccer after having been there on the sidelines and having seen the kind of condition you have to be in to play. It's pretty much non-stop running."

For his research thesis, Parsley studied the affects of breaking an ankle on an athlete's performance. While at VMI, he was able to put his knowledge to use, helping an athlete recover from that very injury.

"It took about a year to get him back running," Parsley said. "It took a lot of work on his part. We spent countless hours in treatment. Seeing him come back from that was probably the greatest accomplishment I could have."

Now that he's joining the Hendrix staff, Parsley finds himself closer to home.

"It's good to come back home. I've been away quite a bit for the past few years. It's nice to see people I know. Life's not so hustle and bustle back here."

Parsley said he hopes to be able to find time in his schedule to get back to Rector and see his younger brother, Seth, play football and basketball.

"I got to see the DVDs (of the football games) last year, but hopefully I can get out to some games this year."

Finding time may be difficult, as Hendrix athletes compete in 17 Division III sports, including baseball, basketball, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, track and field, swimming, cross country, tennis and cheerleading.

Parsley's work at Hendrix will focus on providing injury evaluation and treatment.

While his present certainly looks bright and busy, Parsley continues to cast an eye to the future.

"In the next couple of years, I'd like to become the head trainer somewhere. For the long-term, I'd like to get my PhD and teach an undergraduate program."