{"id":780742,"date":"2026-07-23T23:16:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T23:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/780742\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T23:16:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T23:16:20","slug":"cedarville-brings-sports-medicine-to-cameroon-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/780742\/","title":{"rendered":"Cedarville brings sports medicine to Cameroon | Local"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cedarville<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dr. Genna Fusco, assistant professor of athletic training and clinical education coordinator at Cedarville University, and her students teach evidence-based rehabilitation techniques, injury prevention strategies and holistic patient care at a symposium hosted by Athletes in Action. GENNA FUSCO \/ CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY \/ CONTRIBUTED<\/p>\n

GENNA FUSCO CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY \/ CONTRIBUTED<\/a><\/p>\n

Graduates of Cedarville University\u2019s master\u2019s degree in athletic training program partnered with Athletes in Action to expand sports medicine education in other countries and demonstrate how athletic training can support healthcare and Christian ministry.<\/p>\n

Genna Fusco, assistant professor of athletic training and clinical education coordinator, led the graduates to Yaound\u00e9, Cameroon, a sovereign country located in west-central Africa, to serve with AIA, a ministry of Cru, a Christian organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile athletic trainers are a common presence on sports sidelines across the United States, the profession remains largely undeveloped in Cameroon,\u201d according to Mark D. Weinstein, executive director of public relations for the university.<\/p>\n

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The organization developed a track and field club that competes throughout Africa while using athletes\u2019 gifts and influence to share the gospel. But as the ministry has grown, so has the need for trained sports medicine professionals who can provide injury prevention, rehabilitation and athletic care.<\/p>\n

Since athletic training is not recognized as an established profession in Cameroon, AIA hopes to equip and mentor future sports medicine professionals who can serve through ministry.<\/p>\n

During the trip, AIA hosted a sports medicine symposium at a local university where Fusco and her students presented evidence-based rehabilitation techniques, injury prevention strategies and patient-centered care practices, and met with healthcare professionals to discuss building athletic training education programs and creating long-term opportunities for the profession within Cameroon\u2019s developing healthcare system.<\/p>\n

Fusco explained that athletic trainers can play a unique role beyond treating injuries, providing physical care while also supporting their mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.<\/p>\n

\"Cedarville<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dr. Genna Fusco<\/p>\n

SCOTT HUCK CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY \/ CONTRIBUTED<\/a><\/p>\n

Madelyn Coonan, who graduated from Cedarville\u2019s Master of Athletic Training program this year, said seeing the need for athletic trainers in Cameroon expanded her vision for the profession and reinforced how it can be used to serve others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was reminded that to use athletic training as a ministry, you only need to remain faithful to what God is calling you to and to keep a kingdom mindset,\u201d Coonan said. \u201cWhether I\u2019m on a missions trip or working at my job, my objective isn\u2019t going to change. I\u2019ll keep praying for my athletes and the people I work with, asking God to open doors for spiritual conversations, serving with humility and joyfulness and planting as many seeds as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

The opportunity to partner with AIA came from Fusco\u2019s involvement with them. She began as a summer intern and joined the ministry\u2019s staff for two and a half years after earning her master\u2019s degree in kinesiology. After leaving the ministry, she served as a volunteer with AIA until joining Cedarville in 2022.<\/p>\n

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As students expressed interest in using athletic training to serve international athletes, Fusco began looking at opportunities to take them overseas.<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since I started at Cedarville, students have asked me if the athletic training program would ever offer the chance to serve overseas,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I realized that there was an opportunity to serve with Athletes in Action, I knew I needed to take a group of students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fusco hopes the experience strengthened her students\u2019 desire to serve in athletic training as a profession and a ministry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sports world encompasses nearly everyone, and it won\u2019t be going away,\u201d Fusco said. \u201cAs athletic trainers, we have a unique opportunity to share the gospel and care for the spiritual health of our teams just as we care for their physical health. I see our profession as an avenue to share the gospel, to go places, to reach people and to disciple people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fusco hopes the Cameroon trip will become an annual event for Cedarville\u2019s athletic training program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dr. Genna Fusco, assistant professor of athletic training and clinical education coordinator at Cedarville University, and her students…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":780743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253,3729],"class_list":["post-780742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=780742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/780743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=780742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=780742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=780742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}