After breaking his wrist in his second year of high school football, Americ Alvarado knew he wanted to pursue a career in sports medicine, aiding athletes with the support he wasn’t provided at his high school. Alvarado is the Certified Athletic Trainer of Redwood Athletics and helps students with any sports injuries they face in their season.
“I’m not here to help [them] with wins, losses, plays or anything like that. My job is to make sure that these athletes are available to participate,” Alvarado said.

Many schools in Marin County have an athletic trainer, but what sets Alvarado apart is the environment he creates within his office.
“My main priority is to make everyone feel safe and feel taken care of, because there’s always this negative aura around injuries, like your season’s done,” Alvarado said.
Varsity basketball coach Jay Demaestri sees Alvarado’s impact firsthand during practices and before games.

“I’ve found that Americ makes real good friends with all of the kids, all the athletes. Every athlete wants to play no matter what. So, it becomes easier for him to tell if they’re not being as truthful as possible and he knows whether or not to shut them down,” Demaestri said.
To achieve that relationship, Alvarado works to make his office a safe space for all athletes, encouraging music and chatter in the background at all times.
“I try my best to acknowledge everybody, freshman, senior, junior, sophomore, male, female, any religion, because everyone takes injuries differently,” Alvarado said. “So, if I have an environment where anybody can hang out for just one minute, two minutes, half a day, whole day sort of thing, at least they can feel comfortable in this office or just being in my presence.”
Senior Markel Doss finds himself hanging around Alvarado’s office frequently after tearing his ACL and getting a concussion this past football season.

“He has a very friendly personality, he just makes everyone feel welcome,” Doss said.
It’s not only the students who benefit from Alvarado’s presence. He works with coaches throughout every season, providing them with his phone number, first aid kit and in Demaestri’s case, a friendship.
“We will watch Warriors games or 49ers games on the weekend sometimes, but then if we have games or practices we know how to maneuver the relationship of friends,” Demaestri said.
Alvarado makes it a priority to work with the coaches and lessen their load.
“To come here and deal with a student-athlete academically with all of their injuries and also coach them at the same time, there’s a lot for one person to deal with. So, at least I could help resolve those issues or be a guiding light in the whole process,” Alvarado said.