Entering into high school, I tried to figure out a career path. At first, I wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon, or a nurse, or maybe an anesthesiologist. Confused and frustrated, I couldn’t pick one thing I wanted to do with my life. This changed when I walked into Arrowhead High School’s athletic training room.  

Strong, confident, and approachable are words to describe the first person I encountered. I met Chyla at the start of the 2016 football season on a blistering July afternoon. I expected to see a tall, mean faced lady. I had never been in the athletic trainer’s room before, and I had no idea who Chyla Edwards (now Bechtel) was.  

Petite, blonde haired, with a sparkling smile, she welcomed me with, “Hey, cheeky. I’m Chyla! Are you ready for your first day as a football manager!?”  

My fears drifted as Chyla reassured me with her warm, welcoming personality. She also had this calm about her, as if a storm is about to start and everything is quiet.

Not a lot of people understand how much Chyla does for our high school’s sports program. Being the head athletic trainer isn’t easy. There is a high standard and expectation she is held to—yet Chyla exceeds. She accommodates her schedule to help athletes before early morning practices. She stays late after football games, even after the coaches leave, to make sure everyone has enough ice, or other injuries needing to be looked at.   

Over the last three years of being a football manager, we created embarrassing, hilarious, and heartfelt memories. Every Friday night, the managers and trainers get dinner that the team moms make before the game. Most of the time, the meals are horrible. This time, we did not get very far into the dinner before we agreed to go to Subway. I was the only one who attempted to eat the meat, but that was the worst choice I made all season. On the way to Subway, I didn’t feel too good, but maybe that was just one of the manager’s driving skills. As we were leaving, I ended up throwing up. Walking back into the trainer’s room, still feeling queasy, I told Chyla what happened. She made sure I was feeling okay, and gave me the whole bottle of Tums to take down to the field.

She made light of the situation saying, “Make sure you save some for Coach Rathkamp because I am sure he will throw up too like the last time.”

Chyla always makes the bad situations turn into happy ones.  She never fails to make me laugh, or put a smile on my face when I’m having a rough day. I learned from her to always try and have a positive attitude, and make others laugh and smile when they are having a bad day.

Chyla is the person who made me want to become an athletic trainer. Watching her work ethic and compassion for athletes made me want to model after her. She doesn’t get many thank yous from athletes or coaches, but I am so thankful for Chyla for believing and trusting me. She instilled her confidence in me to help other athletes if they were injured. It isn’t easy trusting in a teenager but she did. As I reflect on the past three years, I wouldn’t be the mature, headstrong, confident person I am today if I didn’t know Chyla.