The mix of young and old Pace veterans and rookies find themselves helping the student athletes at Pace on a daily basis. They have been able to form meaningful relationships with athletic teams and even non-athletes in the community, as demonstrated by the many students that walk in to athletic trainers’ office just to spend some time

with their caregivers.

Here is a look at some of their interests and reasons why they decided to pursue careers as trainers.

Danielle Govan: The newest member to the Pace trainers staff, Govan joined the team as the Assistant Athletic Trainer about a year ago.

Govan grew up in an athletic environment, having picked up skiing at the age of six. Becoming a skier has given Govan the opportunity to travel to various countries, her favorites being Germany and Austria.

“Skiing has allowed me to travel to such breathtaking places, which is something I love,” Govan said. “But when it comes to it, I just love having that adrenaline you get right out of the gates, being outside with the wind in my face.”

Govan enjoys the relationships that trainers build with student athletes, and after suffering many injuries of her own throughout her life, Govan fell in love with the idea of helping other athletes like her.

Despite falling in love with the courses she took, Govan’s inspiration to turn to the athletic medical field came from her old Head Athletic Trainer at her school, where she found a role model in which to follow.

“He always had such charisma and energy towards everyone,” Govan said. “His smile would light up a room. He always made everyone smile regardless of their injury, and I think that really showed me how this job should be done and the impact you can have on students.”

Phil Ryder:

Entering his fifth year as Athletic Trainer at Pace, Ryder found himself drawn into the medical field. He found a love for helping athletes, and enjoyed the bonds that were formed at the collegiate level.

“It’s a great place to be, I really enjoy the people that I get to work with” said Ryder, who graduated from Springfield College in Massachusetts.

Words of wisdom from Ryder’s podiatrist helped him stay on track, knowing that the world of college athletics could be quite challenging.

“He basically told me that if I was really interested in working in this field I couldn’t let the difficulties of a college program scare me away,” Ryder said. “I found it was definitely worth it in the end.”

On his down time Ryder enjoys to stay active, and healthy, as he does some strength and conditioning of his own, as well as other exercises that help him bring more to his every-day job.

Barry Moriarty:

Moriarty is the Head Athletic Trainer at Pace, making him the veteran of the group with 33 years of services to Pace so far.

He began his career early on in high school, as he was asked to be the student manager of the football team. He describes how since there were no trainers at the school, he was “dumped” with those responsibilities.

“I pretty much self-taught myself to be a trainer,” Moriarty said. “But I ended up liking it, and then I found out that you could major in it, well back then it was a concentration. I really enjoyed being around the team.”

Once he graduated high school, Moriarty also found himself at Springfield College in Massachusetts, and later at the University of New Hampshire.

He was fortunate enough to be accepted into the program, thanks to his old football coach who was friends with the head athletic trainer.

When he isn’t helping student-athletes, or teaching at the College of Health Professions, Moriarty can be trying to get a hole-in-one at the golf course. While football and basketball didn’t work out for Moriarty because of knee problems, golf has been the one sport that has stuck with Moriarty over the years, providing him with a “nice release” from reality.

Moriarty also enjoys spending time with his wife Eileen and three children- Taralyn, Rebecca, and Connor.