LA GRANDE, Ore. –
Linda Gibbens,
Alyssa Frei,
Sienna Handegard and
Courtney Alley of the College of Idaho have been recognized as the Cascade Collegiate Conference Athletic Training Staff of the Year for 2017-18 as announced by the league office.
Winners are selected based on a survey that was taken by CCC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members and distributed to student-athletes around the conference. This is the fourth year of the award.
Gibbens, who has served as the head certified athletic trainer at C of I since 1985, has oversight for 20 Coyote varsity programs and primarily works with the football and track teams. She received her undergraduate degree from Linfield College in 1983 and her master's in physical education from Indiana University in 1985. It marks the second time she has earned the distinction – having won CCC Trainer of the Year honors in 2004.
"We are deeply honored," Gibbens said. "My staff deserves all the credit. Each brings a unique perspective and positive life experience to their practice, which influences their individual approach as they treat athletes. I could not ask for a better staff to work with....kudos to them!"
Frei joined the C of I staff in 2016 after serving as an assistant ATC at Montana State Northern and works directly with the football and baseball programs. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Montana and her master's in educational administration at the University of South Dakota in 2014.
Handegard joined the C of I staff in 2016 after serving as the athletic trainer at Kalani High School in Hawaii and works with the Coyote volleyball, men's and women's basketball and softball programs. She earned her undergraduate degree in athletic training from Boise State in 2004 and her master's in advanced athletic training from the University of Hawaii in 2012.
Alley joined the C of I staff in 2017 after serving as a Graduate Assistant ATC at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and works directly with the Coyote men's and women's soccer, swimming, skiing and men's lacrosse teams. She earned her undergraduate degree in athletic training from Linfield College in 2014 and her master's in kinesiology from UNLV in 2017.
"With nearly 400 student-athletes on our campus, our athletic training staff interacts with almost half of our entire student population," said athletic director
Reagan Rossi. "Linda has done a tremendous job for us for over three decades and with the addition of football in 2013, we were able to grow our staff both in quantity, but also in quality. The care Linda, Alyssa, Sienna and Courtney provide our student-athletes is second-to-none and are a big reason for the success we have both on and off the court, field, track, pool or slopes."
Gibbens will be put forth as the CCC's nominee for NAIA-ATA Athletic Trainer of the Year.
