College of Allied Health Sciences
Trent Maddox came to Augusta, Georgia with a plan. As a captain for the Augusta Jaguars baseball team and the starting shortstop, Maddox reached for more on and off the field and was recently accepted into the physical therapy program in the College of Allied Health Sciences (CAHS) at Augusta University.
“The athletics side is what brought me here, but I think honestly it’s the academics that’s going to keep me here,” Maddox said.
Maddox will join the three-year doctoral program in Physical Therapy, which is comprised of nine semesters, including 36 weeks of clinical experience. After interviewing in January, Maddox was put on a waiting list and was offered a spot in early March of 2021. Overwhelmed with excitement, he said it was worth the wait.
“Augusta had the program I really wanted to be a part of. I applied to a couple of other places, but really, I probably wasn’t going to go anywhere but here. To be able to get in at the place you want to be at is just awesome. It was pretty exciting to get that call, it’s a big weight lifted off my shoulders.”
After graduating from Winder-Barrow High school, Maddox joined the Augusta University baseball team in 2018 and quickly earned a starting spot as a freshman. Since his freshman campaign, Maddox has led the team in multiple offensive categories and is a two-time All-Academic honoree for the Peach Belt Conference. He was named Pre-Season All-Conference in 2020, just before the pandemic hit. Augusta was 20 games in when they were forced to stop playing.
“The next thing you know the rest of the season gets cancelled, then school gets cancelled, so it all just kind of steam rolled right away. It was a pretty shocking real-quick, three-day period. You go from playing and practicing every day to now you’re done, your back home, you’re not even doing classes for two weeks. It was pretty jolting at first.”
Maddox used the break to overcome some lingering athletic injuries, but also focus on his studies and future academic goals. Maddox will receive his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the College of Education with a concentration in pre-physical therapy. The Jaguars are also back on the field for their 2021 season after adapting to the NCAA COVID-19 guidelines.
Now back on the diamond and with a recent acceptance to PT school, Maddox knows how unique and special Augusta University is and what it means to truly be a student-athlete. He is ready to help others, just like he has been helped by the AU community.
“My first sort of thought with trying to get into PT, was oh it’s sports related, but you know as I’ve gone along it’s deviated a little bit from that. You can see older patients, younger patients, patients that have no clue what baseball or sports mean. It’s still been cool to meet those people and get to know them, see their progress through an injury. As far as an outpatient clinic, I’ll get to work with all kinds of groups of people and be able to help people get back to living their everyday lives. It’s just cool to be able to help whoever it is.”
For more information on the PT program in the College of Allied Health Sciences click here
For more information on the Kinesiology program in the College of Education click here
Follow the Augusta University Baseball team by clicking here
Staff
