ST. DAVIDS, Pa.— In an announcement to his peers in the athletic department, Senior Athletic Trainer John Post announced that after over thirty years of working nights and weekends, he has made the decision to move into a new position away from the University. Starting as a contracted employee in the early days of the 1990's and hired on as a full-time employee in 1998, Post has been with the University and the department through booming periods of growth and difficult transitions. Untold number of student-athletes have undergone treatment and rehabilitation under his watch and have been blessed by his professionalism, care, and wit.
His impact extends far beyond the treatments and protocols. He played a major role in developing a future generations of Athletic Training professionals. He supervised countless interns and taught many in classes. His former students and interns are providing outstanding care in high schools, colleges, and corporate environments throughout the region.
As one of the longest tenured employees of the department and a detailed record-keeper, Post carries a massive quantity of institutional knowledge and has been around for a huge percentage of the department high points. Whenever anyone has a question on a record or accomplishment, JP is the first guy to ask. He has traveled to NCAA Tournaments with Field Hockey, Women's Volleyball, Men's and Women's Soccer, and Men's and Women's Lacrosse. For as long as Eastern has competed in the NCAA, JP has been on the job. He is well-respected by his peers at other institutions and has served on numerous professional committees.
Colleagues know he is incredibly meticulous and organized. He possesses an incredibly neat desk and even more well-ordered work environment. Regardless of when an event ends, the training room is always put back in order before he calls it a day. For JP, that organization was critical to giving the best possible care and getting student-athletes back in action as quickly as possible.
Eastern student-athletes know that JP is rooting for teams to succeed. For much of the early part of his career, he was the entire Athletic Training Staff. He covered every event. Even with his passionate rooting interest, he treated student-athletes from visiting teams with the same professional care and genuine compassion that he gave to Eastern student-athletes.
Over time, and under his leadership, that staff grew and developed. As non-traditional seasons have expanded and the staff has increased, Post has spent most of his time with the Men's Soccer and Men's Lacrosse programs. His final event as an Eastern athletic trainer will be a home Men's Lacrosse game this Saturday afternoon.
Many will remember Post for his calm and kindness when he was the first face they saw after a significant injury. When necessary, he could get from a bench area across the field in near-record time without being out-of-breath or rattled. Panic is not a word he knows.
Those same people will remember his positivity through rehabilitation and his genuine joy when they returned to competition. Some never dealt with serious injury but relied on Post for ankle-taping, bags of ice, a word of encouragement, or a reminder to hydrate. His care for student-athletes extended beyond medical, and even those who never needed treatments enjoyed his hybrid-flavored Gatorades and training-room riddles. No one ever drowned during one of his infamous pool workouts, but many were left wondering, 'how was that only 30 seconds?'
In the same way, we look back on a great career and ask, 'how was that only 33 years?' Like the observatory on top of McInnis or the uphill walk to Walton Hall, John Post has been part of Eastern. He was almost always a behind-the-scenes person, but folks are invited to stop by Gough Great Room tomorrow from 1:30-4:00 tomorrow to wish him well.
Post will continue to work as an adjunct professor teaching First Aid and will run on-campus CPR and First Aid certification classes for the Athletic Department and others, but the post-Post era will start on Feb. 1. He will be missed.
