Amid a year of personnel change within Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) athletics, the department recently welcomed new Director of Sports Medicine Joe Gonzalez. The Pomona-Pitzer Athletics Department introduced Gonzalez in a press release on July 10, following a nationwide search. Gonzalez brings with him four new assistant trainers in a move that saw the entire training room turn over this past summer.
Gonzalez, a certified athletic trainer since 1997, spent 11 years at Loyola Marymount University (LMU), where he worked with several teams while learning the ropes of athletic training.
Following his time at LMU, Gonzalez served as the assistant athletic director and head of the sports medicine program for 13 years at SCIAC rival Occidental College in Eagle Rock, CA. There, he oversaw the entire varsity sports medicine program, while also serving as a mentor to his athletes. He credits his time at Occidental as profoundly important and formative in his career and life.
“My 13 years at Occidental College were very meaningful to me, and I am extremely grateful for the growth and experiences I had there,” Gonzalez wrote in email correspondence with TSL. “The P-P job opened up at a time when I was looking for a new challenge in my career. P-P athletics has a standard of excellence that I wanted to be a part of.”
Gonzalez, whose regimen is built around injury prevention and rehabilitation, has many goals for his time with P-P. He emphasized inclusivity and support for athletes as they practice and perform throughout their season.
“Our objective is to provide a professional and inclusive sports medicine program where all P-P student-athletes can receive high-quality medical care,” Gonzalez wrote. “This means that all P-P student-athletes can feel welcomed walking through our doors to receive the care they need.”
Sagehen football player Hunter Merkel PO ’28 is working with Gonzalez and the new team first-hand, as he is currently rehabilitating a torn ACL. He suffered the injury in the third quarter of the Sagehens’ first game of the season against Willamette University.
“Joe has been right by my side since [the injury],” Merkel said. “He has been checking in on me every day, doing a lot of physical therapy and trying to get the swelling down. He’s been super kind, and he’s trying to make this whole situation as easy as possible. I really appreciate everything he’s done.”
In addition to Gonzalez, P-P athletics brought in four new assistant trainers, announcing three of the hirings in an Aug. 24 press release. Among them is Rayna Harrison, who came to P-P after five years at Concordia University in Irvine, CA. There, she worked with the sports teams as an assistant trainer and concussion coordinator. She looks forward to working in her new role in a storied Pomona-Pitzer department and crafting her own vision for the department.
“Pomona is one of the SCIAC schools that I have always admired,” Harrison said. “I was looking to grow in my career and was feeling a little stuck. I thought that this would be a really good place for me to spread my wings and grow professionally in a way that I wanted to. After my interview [with P-P], it was clear to me that this was the place that I could do that.”
Looking ahead, Harrison is excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for the all-new training staff. Every trainer at P-P is new to the school this year. The other hires are all recently out of school, and she sees this as a great opportunity to solidify the culture of athletic training for the team.
“It’s been really fun to be a part of a program that has a really excellent legacy,” Harrison said. “We get to tailor it to fit the vision that we have for this program.”
Gonzalez emphasized that the training staff hit the ground running and is making great strides in providing high-quality care to the Sagehens. As a team, they have all begun to make their lasting impact on P-P athletics.
“[The new trainers] all are fantastic,” Gonzalez wrote. “Everyone brings a strong work ethic and high energy every day. They all share the objective of providing high-quality medical care for our student-athletes, and I believe our student-athletes recognize that.”
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