As the NBA season persists, nagging injuries begin to carry a lot more weight than they did at the beginning of the adventure. Acute injuries have detrimental effects as well, especially in the midst of this tight Western Conference race. Ask Pau Gasol about his current, unexpected anguish. The wear and tear of the nagging injury is something that the athletic trainer must deal with on a daily basis along with the sudden injuries that athletes incur. It takes the right person to be attracted to a business with such polar demands, not to mention the required flexibility and proficiency in record keeping, time management, media relations, psychology and sociology.

What would persuade a college bound student with a football scholarship to become an athletic trainer? Well, for Gary Briggs it was an injured knee that sent his scholarship out the window. As he was going through the rehab for his knee, he thought maybe he might like to do the same job as those who were helping him to repair and heal.

I asked Gary about the pressure athletes might feel to play when they are injured. Even more specifically if the attitude of the players is any different now than in the past, regarding “playing through the pain.” The biggest change according to him is the role of the players’ agents in the whole injury cycle. “In all of pro sports, the agent plays a much larger role,” says Briggs. He notes his initial realization of just how much time he was spending, not just in communicating with the team physicians, but in the “second opinion protocol.” This protocol is followed when the trainer must communicate with the injured player’s agent who desires to have his player looked at by a physician or specialist of the agent’s choosing, no matter the location or specific case knowledge of the second physician. It’s a unique position for the athletic trainer between the proverbial rock and hard place, and once again it’s all part of the job for Gary Briggs. That flexibility theme presents itself yet again.

Try as I might, I could not get any names of well known cry babies who may have played for the Jazz from the ever-professional Gary Briggs. Of course medical information is confidential, but no amount of non-confidential prying resulted in any names. Of course something to keep in mind, as Gary pointed out, is that “everyone has different levels of pain perception.” An athlete’s willingness to play through pain can differ depending upon which sport they play. “Basketball is a different animal” than other sports, Briggs says. Someone who plays in the NFL has one game per week. They might be able to heal up enough to be ready to play in the next game. The NBA has a sometimes grueling schedule, where games might be played on the road, 3 out of 4 nights in a row. It’s difficult for any healing to take place in that type of scenario.

As a former Cleveland Cavalier, Gary Briggs will admit that his admiration for Jazz legends John Stockton and Karl Malone only began once he arrived in Utah. In fact, I believe the direct quote from Gary was that he “hated those guys” while he worked for Cleveland. He told me however; once he arrived in Utah, and began to work with John and Karl on a daily basis, he grew to love them. He worked with them for 3 years at the tail end of their careers. “They have the best work ethic of any athletes” says Briggs.

Something that I can attest to is that any trainer who works for a team, and really hangs in there for a long time, has the best work ethic of anyone hands down. In the next installment of this interview, we’ll catch a glimpse into just how much an NBA trainer, especially one for the Utah Jazz, works during a week and a season. We’ll also see more examples of the flexibility that Gary Briggs shows every day.