By Mike Pilosof
Garden City, KS-Allison Griffin has seen the world; literally and figuratively. And now her expansive travel resume, which once included a stay in the illustrious land of sand and lava fields in Iceland, pivots to the Midwest as the new Head Athletic Trainer at Garden City Community College. It’s all part of a departmental restructuring aimed at providing the best and most diligent care for student athletes.
“From the moment we interviewed Alli, we were impressed by her energy and passion,” Director of Athletics, Greg McVey said. “Not only does she know her stuff, she loves what she does, and we are so excited to have her here.”
Born into a military family, Griffin comes to Garden City from Yuma, AZ., where she served as the Head Athletic Trainer at Arizona Western for three years. During her stint there, she revamped the intern program and oversaw more than 20 students. At the same time, she taught three sports medicine courses while working as secretary for the Arizona Community College Athletic Trainer Association, a position she held for two years. Griffin also played an integral role in redesigning a new sports’ medicine facility and implementing a new electronic medical-record system to streamline communication between athletic trainers and coaches.
“From a professional standpoint, this was a real no brainer for me,” Griffin said. “To be asked to be the head of such a large program, is really an honor, and I really look forward to it.”
Griffin began her career in sports medicine in 2011 as an intern at the University of Arizona. From there, she moved to Flagstaff, eventually graduating at the top of her class from Northern Arizona. Then, in 2016, she was hired as an assistant athletic trainer at Webber International University where she worked with their football, bowling and tennis teams. And she accomplished plenty. In just one year on the job, she redesigned emergency action plans, assisted in rewriting policies and procedures, and implemented an inventory-tracking system. At the same time, the bowling program won two national titles.
“She has so much experience in so many different areas,” McVey added. “And that’s key, especially with our large athletic department here at Garden City.”
Originally from Arizona, Griffin’s father served for more than 20 years in the Air Force with the family living in all parts of the globe-from England and Germany to Las Vegas, NV, New Mexico and Florida.
“I can tell you that the school is getting an incredibly passionate and dedicated athletic trainer,” Griffin explained. “I work hard to develop programs that I’m proud of, and I’m looking forward to making positive changes.”
