Bengals and Reds Select WC Athletic Training Students as Interns

Samuel Tedtman and Chad Rairdon Named to Choice Internships Wilmington College’s presence in the big leagues continues as the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals selected two athletic training students to serve as interns during those teams’ 2017 seasons. (PICTURED) Samuel Tedtman (LEFT) and Chad Rairdon sport their team's colors as the Reds and Bengals new athletic training interns. Both start their internships this month. Chad A. Rairdon. a senior from Trafalger, Ind., is the Bengals’ new intern while Samuel T. Tedtman, a senior from Louisville, Ky., will work in that capacity with the Reds. Wilmington College AT students have regularly held internships with the Major League Baseball franchise since the early 1990s, when 1994 graduate Nick Kenney worked with the Reds. He became a fulltime assistant athletic trainer in Cincinnati and later with the Cleveland Indians, and, the past seven seasons, Kenney has been head athletic trainer with the Kansas City Royals. The College also has a longtime affiliation with the Bengals, which has hosted nearly 45 WC athletic training interns since 1981 graduate Paul Sparling became the team’s head athletic trainer in the early 1990s. “When I have an athletic training intern recommended to me by (program director) Larry Howard, I know they’re going to be top-of-the-line,” Sparling said during a recent visit to WC in which he presented a Bengals injury case study to athletic training students. “With their education and experience, I get the cream-of-the-crop,” Sparling added. “The hands-on learning experience as part of Wilmington’s fine program allows those students to separate themselves from athletic training students at other institutions. It makes it an easy choice for me to bring Wilmington College students on board the Cincinnati Bengals medical staff.” With that kind of history, both students feel pressure to perform at the highest levels during their time with the teams. “It’s definitely a huge honor,” Tedtman said about his Reds assignment. “I want to continue the excellence associated with Wilmington College students that have had this internship.” Rairdon added, “It’s extremely humbling and a big honor to intern with a professional team in Cincinnati. We realize we have to maintain a high standard.” Tedtman, who will start with the Reds Thursday (April 13), said his participation and continuing interest in sports initially got him interested in athletic training, “but, as I developed through Wilmington College’s program, my interest evolved into gaining an even greater appreciation for providing the best care possible.” Rairdon, who also has a background in sports participation, said, through the AT program, he developed an “excitement and passion for learning. You have to be willing to learn and grow because, in athletic training here, you learn something new everyday.” His internship with the Bengals starts April 18.