Pitch
Syd Fye Profile Pitch
Possible subjects..
- Delainey Dunkerley
- What I know
- Student at UNE- 1st year
- Marine Bio Major
- Volleyball Player
- Ex-horse back rider
- Ex-track thrower
- Dyslexic + Discalculus
- Volunteer
- Available on Internet
- Old sports stats
- Status in pet food pantry
- What more do I want to know about them?
- Struggles/ overcoming them as a busy college student with a learning disability
- Her high school involvement/ and how it translated to college
- Others to chat with?
- Family
- Teammates
- Friends
- Morgan DaSilva
- What I know
- AT at UNE
- UNE grad
- Works with men’s and women’s teams
- Available on Internet
- Involvement at UNE
- Schooling prior to employment
- What more do I want to know about them?
- How she balances all the teams
- Which team does she find best to work with
- Others to chat with?
- Players who work with her
- Other AT’s
- Athletic Director
- Pitches: Delainey Dunkerley and Morgan DaSilva
- Delainey Angle:
- growing up with a learning disability and still succeeding
- balancing school and volleyball
- Questions
- What has dyslexia made difficult for you?
- Have you had to work harder for things because of your learning disability? How so?
- Have you been able to balance sports and school well?
- What have you had to do in order to balance them?
- Do you find that it’s harder to balance these things at a college level (all involvements and dyslexia)?
- Morgan Angle
- Balancing all the teams
- How she became and AT
- Questions
- How often are you on campus helping athletes?
- Are some teams harder to work with than others?
- Do you see new situations every day or are most athletes getting similar injuries?
- How much schooling goes into being an AT?
- What are the highlights of being an AT?
Questions
- Can you share some background on how you chose to be an AT? Was that your plan going into college?
- What is it like working with so many different teams with so many different people?
- Your schedule seems pretty sporadic to fit all the teams’ practice/game times. How do you handle that? How often are you on campus?
- You went to UNE as a student; did you intend on working for your alma mater?
- What has the process of becoming an AT at UNE looked like? Did you intern?
- Do you see a lot of the same injuries in athletes or have you dealt with all sorts of things?
- What have been some of the highlights of being an AT at UNE?
Outline
Lead
Nut Graph
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Background
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Becoming a trainer
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Recent experiences
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Highlights
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Early Draft
Alumni to Athletic Trainer
By: Syd Fye
Many college and university graduates will find themselves far from their alma mater after graduation. Often their school will not be able to provide the type of job they’re looking for, but for some lucky graduates it has exactly what they hope to do.
Morgan DaSilva, UNE Athletic Trainer, found herself sticking around in Biddeford Maine, home of the Nor’Easters. She finished her master’s degree in summer of 2025, but has been apart of the UNE trainer team far longer than just this past year.
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DaSilva received her bachelor’s degree for athletic training in 2020, when she also began her internship in the AT room. She remained an intern for just a year, and was then promoted to a temporary full-time position in 2021. After just another year, DaSilva found herself officially elevated to full-time athletic trainer.
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DaSilva works with multiple different teams at UNE. These teams include Women’s Volleyball, Women’s Field Hockey, Men’s Lacrosse, Women’s Ice Hockey, and Men’s & Women’s Cross Country. Though she’s always willing to help out with some of the other athletes, these teams remain her focus.
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Those who know Morgan will have discovered how personable and easy to connect with she is. As someone working with young adults at some pretty vulnerable points, it’s a must to be understanding.
Workshop Draft
Alumni to Athletic Trainer
By: Syd Fye
Many college and university graduates will find themselves far from their alma mater after graduation. Often, their school will not be able to provide the type of job they’re looking for, but for some lucky graduates it has exactly what they hope to do.
Morgan DaSilva, University of New England Athletic Trainer, found herself sticking around in Biddeford Maine, home of the Nor’Easters. She finished her master’s degree in summer of 2025, but has been a part of the UNE trainer team far longer than just this past year.
“Honestly, if someone had asked me when I first got to UNE in 2016 for undergrad if I would be in my 6th academic year working here as an athletic trainer, I would probably tell them how crazy they were to even suggest such a thing…. but here we are!” said DaSilva.
DaSilva received her bachelor’s degree for athletic training in 2020, when she also began her internship in the AT room. She remained an intern for just a year, and was then promoted to a temporary full-time position in 2021. After just another year, DaSilva found herself officially elevated to full-time athletic trainer.
“I never intended on working at UNE as my first full time job out of college but I ended up loving the teams and coworkers that I had here and soon could never see myself anywhere else, so I stayed once I was offered a full time position in 2022.”
DaSilva works with multiple different teams at UNE. These teams include Women’s Volleyball, Women’s Field Hockey, Men’s Lacrosse, Women’s Ice Hockey, and Men’s & Women’s Cross Country. Though she’s always willing to help out with some of the other athletes, these teams remain her focus.
“Being able to be a part of all of these teams creates so many bonds with all those athletes and you get to experience working with these athletes to get them back to whatever sport it may be which is what it’s all about.”
Those who know Morgan will have discovered how personable and easy to connect with she is. As someone working with young adults at some pretty vulnerable points, it’s a must to be understanding.
“When I reached high school, I experienced several injuries that required me to work closely with our athletic trainer. I wanted to be that same supportive and trusted person for other athletes that she was for me,” DaSilva said.
“Morgan isn’t even officially my trainer, but she has been very helpful and supportive throughout my rehab process,” said first-year soccer player, Jared Beale, who recently sprained his MCL.
“Coming in as a freshman with a chronic knee injury, I’ve never felt more welcomed and comfortable. Morgan has become more than my athletic trainer, I would also consider her my friend,” said first-year volleyball player, Delainey Dunkerley.
Knee injuries are no stranger to DaSilva, along with essentially every other injury an athlete could have. She works tirelessly to treat every knee, ankle, shoulder, and whatever else comes her way. She finds it extra fulfilling to know that the young adults she assists are students at her alma mater.
“With all the teams that I have I see a lot of different injuries since the sports require different demands and have different amounts of load on different parts ofthe body,” she says.
Clearly the many years of experience have paid off, as DaSilva has developed an understanding of what to expect from each athlete. Her determination to connect with the teams has her prepared for whatever they may come in the training room with.
“Cross country has a lot of overuse injuries, field hockey has a mixture of lower body and back related injuries, volleyball always has injuries varying from upper to lower body, women’s hockey is pretty physical and intense so the injuries are usually more heightened and more serious, and men’s lacrosse is even more physical than hockey,” said DaSilva.
Along with the joy of providing such comfort to her athletes, DaSilva has had the opportunity to be a part of a lot of great moments in the UNE athletic program. Since the AT’s often have to travel with their teams, she’s been able to catch a lot of the on the road action.
“I always look forward to the long overnights and spring break trips like I have taken with softball to Florida many times, men’s lacrosse to Maryland, and women’s ice hockey weekend overnight trips,” said DaSilva.
DaSilva has taken full advantage of everything that UNE has been able to offer her for multiple years. From student to employee, the university has had the pleasure of keeping Morgan around. Her athletes are her biggest priority, and that could not be more clear.
“Some of the best highlights are being able to form relationships and bond with my athletes by being a part of their daily trips to stop in before practice or get ready before a big game… to be a part of their routine and journey is all the highlight I would ever need for my job.”
