It's exhilarating to watch athletes test their skills and abilities against one another in elite competition and it's gut wrenching to see an athlete crumble in pain as an injury brings that contest to an abrupt halt.
Injuries are a way of life in sports, and when they occur, it's up to the athletic trainer to help that athlete through the recovery process and get back into the game.
Vic Winburn is the man many area athletes turn to in their time of need.
Winburn got his start in 1968 at Eastway Middle School in Charlotte, where he served as an athletic trainer and coach for the football, baseball, basketball and track teams.
Eager to get to the collegiate level, Winburn accepted a position as athletic trainer for Marshall University in Huntsville, W.Va., after he earned his master's degree from Appalachian State University.
"I sent out resumes and was offered a position at Marshall in 1971 — the year after their plane crash — and was there during their rebuilding process," Winburn said. "I was responsible for every male and female athlete in their athletic program."
He worked there for 10 years before accepting a position at a private orthopedic practice in order to work standard hours and spend more time with his growing family.
In 1985, Winburn moved back to his home state when he took a job at Hickory Orthopaedic Center, where he works today as director of sports medicine.
Winburn said what makes him proud to be associated with the center is the integrity and the high ethical standards of the medical professionals he works with every day.
"We're always looking for ways to further serve the community," he said.
One of his goals is to increase awareness of the importance of total physical fitness among area high school students and toward that end, he helped create the Unifour Athletic Combine nine years ago.
Area high school athletes compete in the event, which consists of 12 stages, that include the usual fitness indicators like bench press, sprints and high jump, while including additional tests of fitness like grip strength, box jump and the medicine ball toss.
"What we've done is include all these things in our measurements to give the athletes a greater understanding of what fitness really is," he said. "The coaches, they already know."
Over the last 40 years, he has helped countless athletes learn about real fitness and get back on their feet and back in the game after injuries, but there's more to his story than that.
"A big part of who I am is my faith," Winburn said.
"I believe the Lord placed us on Earth to serve him and mankind," he said. "My role as an athletic trainer allows me to fulfill that part of who I'm supposed to be."
Winburn said he works to help athletes overcome their injuries and difficulties. Tough times aren't fun, but he believes they're vital to development.
"Our character is defined by faith and by the difficulties that we come upon in our lives," Winburn said. "Anything worth having comes at a cost. It comes by overcoming a challenge. Our redemption came at the greatest cost — God's son."
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