Pirates Behind The Scene: Jake Moore

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GREENVILLE, N.C. – The football players aren't the only ones enjoying new digs in the Ward Sports Medicine Building.

The football athletic training staff, led by Jake Moore, also received a vastly improved and enlarged work area thanks to the first phase of the Southside Renovation Project.

When Ward was completed in 1989, it was state of the art. Now, 29 years later, it was in need of some work.

"Like everything, things change and evolve," said Moore, who was elevated to head football athletic trainer in 2012. "What we have now is much more inline with what other schools have. We're not behind anymore, with things such as the cold tub and the rehab pool, which will be really good with the treadmill. Before, we had a deep well and stainless steel cold tubs.

"The layout of the training room is a lot better for rehab and taping purposes, and there's a lot more floor space."

It helps make the job a little bit easier for Moore and his staff, who at this time of year are putting in some very long days. Typically, they show up between 5:30 and 5:45 a.m., seven days a week, and stay until around 9 p.m.

Once school starts on Monday, Aug. 20, it will settle down a little bit and give them some room to breathe as the players head to classes. But until the final football game is over, it's a job with very few, if any, off days.

"August is probably our busiest month," Moore said. "We eat lunch and dinner at our desk here in the office because guys are coming and going. In the offseason we're lifting weights and things like that, so it calms down."

It's a job that Moore didn't have to learn to love — he has wanted to do this for a long time. He was always involved in athletics while growing up in Chaska, Minn., and once he took an athletic training course in high school, he was hooked.

He earned a degree in exercise and sports science with an emphasis on athletic training from Iowa State in 2004, and did internships with the Indianapolis Colts and the Minnesota Vikings.

Moore also earned a spot on the Iowa State wrestling team as a walk-on, and was awarded a varsity letter. When he graduated, he came to ECU for the first time and earned a master's degree in sports management in 2007.

"I thought that would help me in some other aspects of athletic training, like budgeting and kind of the business end of sports," Moore said. "I was given a team to work with, and I ran with it from there. It really allowed be to grow professionally in the field of athletic training."

Moore worked with the men's soccer team in 2005, offseason baseball in 2005, 2006 and 2007, and with the football team in-season in 2006. After earning the degree, he took a position at Kansas, but returned to ECU in 2010.

"I knew I liked the school and the athletics department," Moore said. "I was Mike Hanley's assistant with football, and I knew there was probably going to be an opportunity for me to move up and advance my career and become the head football guy."

When Hanley moved into an administrative role initially as the assistant athletics director for medical services in the summer of 2012, Moore got his opportunity to move up. And once again, he ran with it.

It was an exciting time in his life. A year earlier, he met the woman who eventually became his wife, also at ECU. In May 2011, he was introduced to Kate Gordon, who is one of the most decorated swimmers in school history. The four-time all-conference performer now is the associate head coach for the swimming and diving teams under head coach Matthew Jabs.

As a former competitive athlete himself, Moore empathizes with the players, especially when they are injured. He sees them at their highest highs and their lowest lows, and takes pride in helping them come back.

"To be able to take them when they're hurt and be with them from that first day and get them all the way back to performing at the level they were before they got hurt is really rewarding," he said. "When they get hurt, a lot of times they don't think they're going to be able to get back."

When a player goes down in a game, Moore is usually the first one out on the field to assist. He often has a doctor out with him, and they quickly assess the situation for its severity.

"A lot of times I go to the kid because the kid sees me every day and I can try to keep them calm so the doctor can do a quick evaluation," Moore said. "Usually they're wondering what's going on. The kid can be pretty excited, if not, anxious.

"We're always ready to go. You look at the younger students, they're always kind of, you know, they jump when they get that adrenaline rush. But I've been doing this so long, it's kind of become second nature and routine. The thing is to remain calm because you may be the only calm one out there."

If he's not busy on game day, that usually means it's a pretty good day because there have been few or no injuries.

His game days start early at the hotel with the team. When they go for their pregame meal, he heads over to the stadium, about two hours before kickoff. His assistant and the students show up six hours early to set up the field and get the training room ready.

Post-game, there's a rush by the players to get out and spend time with family and friends. But the frantic pace will resume the next morning.

"We see them on Sunday morning, and everything hurts on Sunday morning," Moore said.

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