Morgan Coduto, ATC, LAT, MEd, has been hired as an assistant athletic trainer at Willamette University. She recently began working as part of Willamette's sports medicine team.

Prior to arriving at Willamette, Coduto worked at Reid Health in Richmond, Indiana, as an athletic trainer since May of 2017. She was assigned to Centerville High School until October, 2021, then she was assigned to work at Indiana University East starting in November, 2021. She worked with the Richmond Jazz team in the Summer Collegiate Baseball League throughout her years with Reid Health. She also was a Rock Steady boxing coach at Reid, using non-contact, boxing-based curriculum for patients with Parkinson's Disease.

Before working in Indiana, she was an graduate assistant athletic trainer at Auburn University (Ala.) from 2012 through 2014 and served as an assistant athletic trainer at Birmingham Southern College from 2014 through 2017.

"I liked working at the college level so continuing my career at the Division III level, and the way WU Athletic Training works (with everyone) pitching in as a team, was very welcoming and refreshing," Coduto said.

Coduto's previous work in college athletics has prepared her to support the health of Willamette's student-athletes and guide their recovery when needed due to injuries.

"Having gotten to also work at the Division III, high school, and NAIA levels I feel like I have been afforded the experiences to better remind myself that getting to participate in athletics is a gift," Coduto noted. "We as ATC's (Athletic Trainers, Certified) get to be participants in that special journey with so many individuals."

Many of her experiences were at Florida Southern College as an undergraduate student provided a great framework as he chose a career in sports medicine. Later, she also gained knowledge at Auburn and Birmingham Southern. Coduto earned a bachelor's degree from Florida Southern in Athletic Training in 2011. She received a Master's in Education degree in Biomechanics from Auburn in 2014.

"I will forever be grateful for my undergraduate experiences at FSC for the foundation it gave me and ultimately prepared and supported me to reach for the experience at Auburn, which was a little bit of a childhood dream." Coduto recalled. "Then getting to go work with the Auburn women's soccer team when they won SEC Championships as an ATC student, and women's equestrian national champions as an ATC just one year after Auburn football won the National Championship was an atmosphere and level of competition that I'll never forget. After having had what felt like unlimited resources, I'm always searching for different ways to give the same treatment and care to my athletes."

She continued to learn about athletic training and expand her skills in the profession while working with student athletes and other patients at Reid Health.

"At Reid Health, the ATC's were used mainly as an outreach tool within the community," Coduto said. "For my first four years I worked at Centerville High School and was a Rock Steady Boxing Coach, with our Rock Steady classes for Parkinson's Patients which was awesome! Then for my last two years, I worked solely with Indiana University East Athletics. Throughout my entire time at Reid Health I worked with the Richmond Jazz in the Summer Collegiate Baseball League, and in my last two years while at IUE, I was one of the two ATC's who were in charge of league coverage."

Now, Coduto has new challenges following the move to Willamette and Salem. She joins Ken Smith, assistant athletics director, sports medicine, and assistant athletic trainers Daisha Harryman and Kayla Smith. There's a whole new list of student-athletes to meet and support. And her husband, recently-hired Willamette Head Baseball Coach Mike Coduto, will be working nearby.

"Getting to work alongside my husband's team again will be pretty special," Coduto said. "And also just becoming a part of another athletics department family as a whole. There's really nothing like it, and I'm excited to share it with our daughter as well."