Craig Kowalski
Craig Kowalski, the athletic trainer at Orchard Park High School for the past four years, has a accepted a position as a physical therapist at Ohio Health in Pickerington, Ohio, where he will work in the out-patient clinic.
Pickerington is located fifteen miles southeast of Columbus, where Kowalski earned a bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Capital University in 1999. He earned a Masters Degree in athletic training from Marshall University in 2003 and worked a few years before deciding to pursue a physical therapy career.
He received a degree in physical therapy from Daemen College on May 22.
Kowalski looks back fondly on his four years of working with athletes at Orchard Park.
“It’s been an amazing experience working here,” Kowalski sad in a recent interview. “The kids have been tremendous and I have gotten to know a lot of the families. They have been so nice to me and treated me well. It’s just been a great experience all-around, working with every sport here.”
Kowalski marked the 2008 state football championship as one of his best memories.
“It was probably the highlight of my career,” he said. “I’ll probably never be able do anything like that again.”
Kowalski is embarking on a busy summer.
After graduation from Daemen College, he will then take the National Certification Exam and the Ohio practicing exam.
Kowalski will begin his new job in mid-July. He and his fiancée, Julie Luka, the athletic trainer at West Seneca East High School, plan to get married a month later.