The Utah Jazz have acquired many new faces this season to add to their roster, however, there is one new face, behind the scenes, that most are not familiar with, yet plays a vital role within the Jazz organization. That face belongs to the team's new trainer, Gary Briggs.

Briggs

After 18 faithful years as the Cleveland Cavaliers athletic trainer, Briggs made his way to Utah this season to begin a fresh start with a newly restructured Jazz team. Hailed as one of the top trainers in the league, Utah couldn't be happier to have Briggs on their court, and as far as he's concerned, everything seems to be working out fine. "So far, I feel very comfortable with both the team and staff in Utah. I've known most of them for close to 18 years and they are a very laid back, friendly, easy-to-know group of people," Briggs says of his new co-workers.

And how does he feel about being in Utah after a long history in Cleveland? "I love Utah! I've always liked Utah when I've visited in the past," says Briggs. "The people, not only within the Jazz organization, but also in town are very friendly and accommodating."

Involved in sports his entire life, Briggs never set his sights solely on athletic training. In fact, his first intention was to be able to play sports, instead of training others to play. "I played football up until my senior year in high school and had to quit playing due to a knee injury," says Briggs. Before the untimely injury to his knee, Briggs had planned to attend the University of Tampa on a football scholarship, but after the injury, decided to attend the University of Florida instead, where a former assistant coach from high school played for the football team. It was at the University of Florida that Briggs developed an interest in athletic training and became a student trainer during the summer of 1967.

Directly upon graduating from college, Briggs landed his first job at Glenoak High School in Canton, Ohio where he was hired as the school's head athletic trainer. After five years at Glenoak, Briggs moved on to Troy State where he spent two years as the University's head athletic trainer for both men's and women's varsity sports. It wasn't until June of 1982 that Briggs received his first big break and joined the Cleveland Cavaliers as the team's head athletic trainer.

Today, Briggs has been an athletic trainer for over twenty-five years and still finds his career just as exciting as his first day on the job, but claims that a lot has changed over the years. "The idea of professional sports teams having athletic trainers is a relatively new concept," says Briggs. Eighteen years ago when Briggs first began working with the Cavaliers, he was nearly the only strength coach in the league, but explains that today, it's next to impossible to find a team in professional sports that doesn't have a trainer or strength coach on the premise. "It's amazing!" exclaims Briggs. "Today we have 300 plus pound football players that can run as fast as 200 pound running backs. That would not have been possible a few years back without the help of athletic trainers," Briggs says. In today's competitive business, it has become crucial that sports teams hire a trainer exclusively to help players perform at a higher level, which is now expected in all professional sports.

Briggs is in his first season with the Jazz.

"An athletic trainer in not necessarily a doctor or a nurse, they are a mix of a paramedic, physicians assistant, physical therapist and travel agent all rolled into one," Briggs says of his career. Although he has several job duties, Briggs claims that 75 percent of his time is spent focusing on preventive medicine, such as flexibility, conditioning and providing a safe environment for players both on and off the basketball court. Besides preventive medicine, Briggs, along with the rest of the training staff, work on rehabilitation for injured players. "The entire staff works hand-in-hand to get a player from an injury to replaying," says Briggs. "My job is to coordinate everything and make sure that as a staff, we're all on the same page, making sure that the player gets back in the game as soon as possible."

Briggs is also a big believer in eating healthy and stresses the importance of a healthy diet to the players on a regular basis. "Our bodies are kind of like fine machines," says Briggs. "If I went out and bought the most expensive race car and then put crummy gas into it, it wouldn't run right. It's exactly the same with our bodies. I really stress this concept to the players," Briggs says. "I always tell them that I'll make their career last longer if they'll do what I say."

Although being an athletic trainer for a professional basketball team can be very rewarding, it also has its disadvantages. "The best thing about my job, is being able to return a player to active status after an injury. I truly enjoy that," says Briggs. "It's like seeing all of my hard work pay off."

However, one disadvantage to the job is the fact that Briggs travels with the team, which takes a lot of time away from family life. Briggs has two young daughters whom he enjoys camping and fishing with in his free time, as well as watching them participate in athletics and being a professional sports trainer doesn't allow for much free time at all. Briggs must also possess a great deal of flexibility. Working with many different people and many different personalities requires flexibility on Briggs part.

"It's like a juggling match, to work with all those different personalities sometimes," says Briggs. For example, all players handle pain and injury differently. While one player may handle an injury with a great deal of ease, another may not handle it well at all. No matter who the player, or what the injury, Briggs must be able to help the player through everything and allow them to realize that it's not the end of the world.

Granted, Briggs has spent 18 years with the Cavaliers, but claims that, "most NBA teams run very similar. The Jazz are unique in the fact that they have two great players that have been here for a long time. Cleveland never had two great players for long," says Briggs. "In 18 years with Cleveland, I went through two owners, four general managers, and seven head coaches." Briggs admits that, "It will be good to be in Utah where they have held onto the same two great players for the past 15 years."

Through a great deal of time and experience, Briggs has learned more about athletic training than he may have ever wanted to know. In spite of the fact that he has accomplished a great deal during his career and has been awarded with high honors, Briggs refuses to take credit for the tremendous work he does for the team. "Within the organization, everyone works in one direction to make sure things go as smoothly as possible," says Briggs. "Everyone lends a helping hand to see that things work out the way they do."