RB High’s Bowers named Athletic Trainer of Year

An athlete hits the turf and doesn’t get back up. The trainers rush onto the field. The crowd sits in silence. Parents sit with the deepest of concerns. And suddenly, every minute that kid is down on the field feels like an hour.

If you’ve been to a high school athletic event, you likely know the scene. Longtime Rancho Bernardo High Athletic Trainer Robbie Bowers certainly does. At that moment, he becomes the most important man in the stadium. But what many might not realize is just how important he is at every other moment, too.

“He is more than just an athletic trainer here at RB High,” Broncos Athletic Director Peggy Brose said. “He is very much a valued member of our staff. What he does goes beyond working with athletes and coaches. Everybody on our campus knows and respects Robbie.”

And so do his fellow athletic-training colleagues.

Bowers was recently named the co-Athletic Trainer of the Year by the San Diego High Schools Athletic Trainers’ Association. He and Niki Dehner of Francis Parker School are the first winners of the inaugural award.

The award is “given to athletic trainers who have demonstrated a commitment to protecting student athletes and the community, and upholding the standards of the profession,” according to a media release.

“It is nice to have the recognition,” said the 51-year-old Bowers, who has been the head athletic trainer at Rancho Bernardo High since the school opened in 1990. “It is kind of weird. I don’t know how to put it modestly, but it kind of is no big deal because I already feel respected and appreciated. There is not a day that goes by without a coach or administrator thanking me, so I feel validated that way already. But for my peers to recognize me, it is a little more special.”

Bowers, a San Diego State graduate and current perceptor for the university’s athletic training program, was nominated for the Athletic Trainer of the Year Award by Mt. Carmel’s trainer Diane Lawrence. Lawrence is a former mentee of Bowers.

“Robbie knows everyone,” she said, according to the release. “Those who call upon him know that they will not be let down with the quality of work and care he puts into treating student athletes.”

And Bowers is often called upon for many different things. He serves as a liaison for the San Diego Section, scheduling trainers at championship games, educating administrators on athletic training and advocating for appropriate athletic training medical coverage at CIF events. He oversees weight management for wrestling and mentors soon-to-be-professional trainers.

“It is not a job to him, it is a passion,” Brose said. “He trained C.J. (Hernandez, Poway High’s trainer) and Diane. Robbie has not only left a legacy and mark here at our school, he has left one throughout the district and the county.”

Bowers says he has “always felt lucky to fall into” the profession. He says he was an average athlete and student. He didn’t always stand out. But something clicked when he found athletic training.

“I found this field and I started to excel academically,” he said. “I fell into the right assignment at the right time. I got the right experience at the right time and the right exposure. It’s almost like this was crafted.”

And he wouldn’t have it any other way. Bowers has enjoyed every second of his time at Rancho Bernardo. He has a bunch of fond memories, including a few with some of the current coaching staff when they were students at the school.

“About 12 of our coaches were former athletes here so that is kind of neat,” he said. “(Basketball coach Marc Basehore, football coach Tristan McCoy) and all those guys I remember when they were 14-year-old kids.

“But I have had some great experiences and a lot of them have nothing to do with winning or losing. To just see a kid achieve something that wasn’t placed on them by a coach or sometimes it’s just helping a kid get healthy enough to suit up for senior night or to play one last game their senior season. There are a lot of memories over the last 26 years.”

Bowers has no plans to leave the school anytime soon. He still gets along great with the students. He often jokes with them that the reason they call it RB High is because it is Robbie Bowers High School.

“In 14 years I will be 65,” he said. “I question if I will be able to connect with a 14-16 year old when I am 65. If I can still make that connection, where they trust and believe in me and follow me lead as I try to care for them, then what else would I do but follow this purpose that I have.”