Behind the Scenes | A glimpse into the life of an Athletic Trainer

Series Introduction: Players and coaches often take the spotlight when it comes to baseball media and fans. But there are so many other people that contribute to a baseball team that may not get as much recognition as they deserve.

This series is designed to highlight a few of the supporting members within the Lansing Lugnuts organization, showcasing who they are and bringing to light what they do for the team.

“Resident Star Wars expert and hog-caller.” That’s what’s on the back of athletic trainer Emily Matlock’s 2026 Lansing Lugnuts baseball card. But knowledge of lightsabers and a passion for the University of Arkansas (hence the hog-calling) aren’t the only things the native of Bentonville, Arkansas, brings to the Lugnuts.

As a member of the franchise’s first-ever athletic trainer duo and as the first female athletic trainer for the team in 26 years, Matlock works to keep the players healthy and help them through injuries, all while keeping her identity centered around her faith as a Christian and trying to act as a role model for others.

A desire to help

Matlock said her decision to pursue athletic training was fueled by her father’s introduction to the field and encouragement that she would enjoy it. Matlock’s high school offered students the chance to work as athletic trainers, and she spent her senior year practicing the profession.

“From then on, I knew that's exactly what I wanted to do,” Matlock said.

Matlock’s passion for athletic training comes from a number of different places. Matlock said she loves sports and the connections and relationships she is able to make within the athletic world. She also said her passion comes from a love for helping people and a love for medicine and anatomy.

“I really, really enjoy helping people, and I think that comes from my parents,” Matlock said. “They're both very servant-hearted people, and with amazing work ethic, and they definitely pass that down to all of their children. … I think it's super cool that every day I learn something new about the human body, and it just makes me appreciate what God did to create the human body.”

Matlock spent six years at the University of Central Arkansas earning her master’s degree. While in college, she also figured out what sport she wanted to work in. At first, Matlock said her interest was in football, but after working in the sport in college, the fast-paced, high-energy nature and lack of opportunities to be directly involved steered her to baseball instead.

“I like the slower pace,” Matlock said. “I like being involved in the game. And I like that the routine that these guys have, it's a grind for everybody involved, but especially the guys, and I appreciate that. I like getting to help them make it through the grind.”

After graduating from college, Matlock received the opportunity to intern with the Chicago Cubs’ Double-A affiliate in Knoxville, Tennessee. After the internship, Matlock took a job with the A’s organization as an athletic trainer working in the Arizona Complex League and with rehabbing players. In the Complex League, Matlock worked with a partner athletic trainer, Rakhoon “RK” Sung, for a season before they both moved up to the Lansing Lugnuts for the 2026 campaign.

Caring for the Lugnuts

Matlock described the work of an athletic trainer in three different stages; preventative, emergency and rehabilitative care. Preventative care is all about keeping players healthy.

“A lot of what we do is trying to prevent bigger things from happening. … You gotta teach some of the guys how to maintain and how to take care of themselves through such long seasons.”

Emergency care is what fans would typically see the athletic trainers doing during games, attending to players who incur injuries while playing.

“Athletic training is different because we're trained in things like C-spine immobilization and spine boarding whereas other fields aren't,” Matlock said.

Finally, rehabilitative care is working with athletes throughout their recovery from injury.

“I tell everybody that athletic training is one of the most unique medical fields because we get to see the injury before, during, and after,” Matlock said. “And we get to see them all the way to return to play, whereas some medical fields don't get to see them completely return to play.”

Matlock said one of her favorite parts of the job is seeing a player come back from an injury and knowing she had a part in that.

“Helping them pursue their careers and get further in their careers is what I really enjoy,” she said.

Matlock also said she enjoys the travel, even if it is a grind, because it builds morale and relationships between her and the players.

“They're all like my brothers,” Matlock said. “I know they tell me about their girl problems, and I tell them about my boy problems. So it's really fun getting to spend that time with them and with the staff and getting to just hang out and just really create really good relationships with them.”

Working in Tandem

With both Matlock and Sung on the staff, this season marks the first time in the Lugnuts’ 30-year history that the team has had a duo of athletic trainers.

“I give all credit to all the past athletic trainers that had to do this by themselves, because it is one heck of a job,” Matlock said.

Having two athletic trainers available to the team is something Matlock said makes the job a lot easier. When it comes to handling injuries during a game, she said having a duo allows there to be one trainer that immediately checks on the player and another standing by to help in emergencies. Inside the locker room, Matlock said having two trainers means more, better individualized treatment for the players because of the extra help.

“If there is one athletic trainer, there's a kinda like a limitation to give some treatment to players,” Sung said. “But right now, so we can take care of maybe everyone right now, so we can keep them healthy, and we can keep them playing well.”

Matlock also said it’s nice to have a partner that can share different opinions or perspectives.

“Me and RK are so different, but I think that's what helps out a ton is we both think different ways, so there's another person to bounce ideas off of that can kind of see it through a different lens,” Matlock said.

Sung said Matlock brings a "positive energy” and gave the example of the whiteboard she sometimes fills out with a question of the day for the team.

“She also has a good energy and try to make the environment fun,” Sung said.

andem

With both Matlock and Sung on the staff, this season marks the first time in the Lugnuts’ 30-year history that the team has had a duo of athletic trainers.

“I give all credit to all the past athletic trainers that had to do this by themselves, because it is one heck of a job,” Matlock said.

Having two athletic trainers available to the team is something Matlock said makes the job a lot easier. When it comes to handling injuries during a game, she said having a duo allows there to be one trainer that immediately checks on the player and another standing by to help in emergencies. Inside the locker room, Matlock said having two trainers means more, better individualized treatment for the players because of the extra help.

“If there is one athletic trainer, there's a kinda like a limitation to give some treatment to players,” Sung said. “But right now, so we can take care of maybe everyone right now, so we can keep them healthy, and we can keep them playing well.”

Matlock also said it’s nice to have a partner that can share different opinions or perspectives.

“Me and RK are so different, but I think that's what helps out a ton is we both think different ways, so there's another person to bounce ideas off of that can kind of see it through a different lens,” Matlock said.

Sung said Matlock brings a "positive energy” and gave the example of the whiteboard she sometimes fills out with a question of the day for the team.

“She also has a good energy and try to make the environment fun,” Sung said.

Finding Identity

Matlock said that within the realm of professional sports, it would be easy for her to find an identity rooted within baseball. Instead, Matlock keeps her faith as a Christian at the forefront of her life.

“My faith, hope, and trust is in Jesus Christ and what he did for me, and that allows me to put my identity in him and what he says I am,” Matlock said. “And he says that I'm worthy, I'm enough, and it doesn't matter the things that I do, and it doesn't matter the situations that I may encounter, that he's by your side no matter what.”

Matlock said that embracing this identity helps her stay positive and thankful for the opportunity God has given her to pursue her passion, even when the going gets tough.

“It definitely helps me stay grounded through really busy seasons and really long seasons,” Matlock said. “And the ups and downs of wins, losses, those don't tend to affect me as much 'cause in my brain, I just say, "You know what? I'm just thankful that I'm here, and I get to be here, and that he's given me the opportunity to be here around really great people, too.”

Breaking Barriers

Being a part of the first athletic trainer tandem in franchise history isn’t the only way Matlock is setting milestones as a member of the Lugnuts. Matlock is also the first female athletic trainer Lansing has had since Taleen Noradoukian in 2000.

“Being the first female AT in 26 years, I take pride in that, and just being a female in professional baseball at all, I carry that very deeply. …  Hopefully some girls are out there being like, ‘Oh, she's in professional baseball, and she's making it, and she's moving up, and that's something I can do,’” Matlock said. “Or, ‘It's not necessarily just a boys club anymore.’"

Matlock recognized both the A’s and Lugnuts’ organizations for how supportive they have been for her, and credited Rachel Folden, a former hitting coach in the Cubs’ system currently with the Mets organization, for being a role model.

“She taught me a lot about what it means to be a woman in professional baseball, and sometimes that means that you gotta work harder, you gotta prove people wrong, and some people are gonna automatically doubt you,” Matlock said.

For Matlock, being a role model involves confidence.

“Being a role model is just having that confidence that I went to school for the same thing, I've done my time, I've done the internships, I've done the job, and that I'm, again, not any less capable,” Matlock said.

But being a role model doesn't end with baseball for her, and it circles back around to her faith. Matlock said she hopes to be a role model for both girls and players for finding identity outside of baseball, “something that is so temporary.”

“Unfortunately, baseball's not gonna last forever,” Matlock said. “My career is not gonna last forever. So being a role model and finding my identity in Jesus and what, again, what he says about me and who I am automatically gives me confidence because I know that I'm here for a reason, and he's given me this opportunity for a reason, so I need to make the most of it.”

Moving forward, Matlock said she hopes to continue working in baseball for a long time. And the dream is to make it to the top.

“As little female athletic trainers there are, there are even fewer that have made it all the way to the bigs, so I think that's the dream, would be to make it to the bigs,” Matlock said. “That would be just unreal.”