Ariko Iso works as trainer for Pittsburgh Steelers

By THERESA HOGUE

Gazette-Times reporter

When Ariko Iso was 14, her athletic inclinations were sideswiped by a knee injury that left her in the hospital for seven weeks. While there, Iso became fascinated with physical therapy and athletic training, and she realized becoming a trainer might be the best chance she'd have to work in sports.

Nearly two decades later, Iso has gone far beyond the fulfillment of her adolescent dreams by becoming the first female athletic trainer in the National Football League. Her career path first led her to an education at Oregon State University, and eventually to a position as assistant trainer with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Iso spoke to students at OSU Friday afternoon, describing her struggles first with the English language, and then finding a job. Her story is one of enthusiasm and determination.

Iso chose to come to Corvallis after she met Chris Zauner, at that time a professor of exercise physiology at OSU. Zauner was giving a presentation in Japan, and with his encouragement she applied and was accepted to OSU.

"He talked to me about Corvallis, and my parents felt comfortable sending me to Corvallis," she said. "I didn't know anyone in the States and now I felt like I knew somebody."

While Iso came to Oregon knowing some English, she found that daily interactions were a lot harder than her classroom training.

"Everybody talks so much faster," she recalled with a laugh.

Some intensive language courses and support from Zauner and his wife helped Iso along, and her studies of exercise and sports science progressed to the point that she was assisting the Beavers athletic teams on away games, as well as working with the men's soccer team.

After graduation, Iso realized to keep her VISA she should stay in school, so she headed to San Jose State University for a master's degree. In her free time, she did as much work as she could with teams and at events around the Bay Area. The connections she forged would pay off.

With her master's degree in hand, Iso went in search of a job. During her talk, she slyly pointed out that OSU rejected her twice, but she found a spot at Portland State University, where she eventually became head trainer of the Vikings football team.

Football was never Iso's primary interest, just something she fell into. Nevertheless, she gathered as much information on football injuries as possible. It was at a meeting in San Francisco on NFL injuries that she first felt a little isolated.

"I don't think about being female," Iso said, "but at that time, I walked into the room, and there were around 300 orthopedic doctors, and only two females in the whole room."

It was also at that meeting that she met Pittsburgh Steelers head athletic trainer John Norwig. Their chance meeting turned first into a two-summer internship for Iso with the Steelers, and eventually, a job as assistant trainer.

"I wasn't following the NFL much," Iso said of her first summer with the Steelers. "I knew some famous people, but this was on the East Coast. Every day, I felt bad to ask their names. It was overwhelming for me."

When Norwig asked Iso to apply for a permanent position with the Steelers, she didn't really think she had much of a chance. She also didn't realize she was up for a job no female had ever held before.

"It was truly amazing everything worked out," she said. She credits her hiring to luck and forging connections with the right people.

When Iso got word that she'd been hired, she had 10 days to move from Portland to Pittsburgh. But she learned that everything works quickly in the NFL. Hired movers had her back east in five days, and she's now been in Pittsburgh for two years.

While Iso said she misses the educational opportunities she had working at the college level, and the diversity of sports and people she worked with then, she recognizes the opportunities the NFL has afforded her.

"I consider myself the happiest athletic trainer out there."