Manning native Steele Morris is doing big things in the athletic training field.
Morris graduated in 2013 from Charleston Southern University with a bachelor of science in athletic training. He headed to Columbia in August 2013 to start his masters degree at the University of South Carolina, where he is expected to graduate in May 2015.
Morris has been a fixture on the sidelines of South Carolina football games, but recently took on a new challenge, traveling to Detroit for a summer internship for the Detroit Lions, where he said he got a wide range of experience.
“We were placed in charge of field set-up (water, Gatorade, medical trunks, AED, examination tables, etc.),” Morris said. “We also were in charge of charting weights before and after practice to help deter dehydration. And finally, we were in charge of delivering treatments to the athletes as determined by the staff athletic trainers.”
Morris said the staff would tell interns what they’d like the athlete to do for the day, and the interns would walk them through the treatment sessions.
While the internship only lasted a little less than a month, Morris enjoyed his time meeting new people.
“The athletes and staff were awesome, but it was great to get to work closely with other intern athletic trainers that were there,” Morris said. “That is a bond I created while I was there that will never be cut.”
The Detroit Lions have a number of mega-star players, including Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Reggie Bush. Morris said it was neat interacting with some of these players, but he noted they are just regular people.
“If you haven’t worked around elite athletes it’s hard to grasp the concept that they are just ‘regular’ people doing their job and getting paid well to do it,” he said. “Outside of the big names, there are a number of players that I got to know and really enjoyed. A few of those guys were Jeremy Ross, Vaughn Martin, and Eric Ebron.”
Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell has been a fixture in the NFL for many years. Caldwell got his start in the NFL under Tony Dungy in 2001 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and followed Dungy in 2002 to Indianapolis. In 2008, Caldwell was formally announced as Dungy’s successor in waiting and took over as the head coach for Indianapolis in 2009. After a brief stint with the Colts, Caldwell joined the Baltimore Ravens as quarterback coach in 2012, and by year’s end was named offensive coordinator. Caldwell was hired Jan. 14 by the Detroit Lions to take over as head coach.
Morris only had positive things to say about the Lions head coach.
“Coach Caldwell is probably one of the nicest coaches I have ever met,” Morris said. “He truly cared about everyone he works with. He took the time out of his day to come down and meet all of the interns working in the athletic training room.
“We started talking one day about the fact that I went to Charleston Southern, and he had a daughter who went and played basketball there and knew a few of the coaches from there,” Morris added. “He enjoyed getting to know everyone and I really appreciated getting to know him.”
While Morris enjoyed his time in Detroit, the workload was tough.
“I would like to consider myself a hard worker, but one of my least favorite things about the internship were the hours worked,” he said. “I knew the days would be long but I did not expect to be putting down 98 hours worth of work on my timesheet for the first week.”
After graduation, the former Laurence Manning Academy student plans to become an associate athletic trainer for a football team at a Division I College.
