Linn Mobley

Paving The Way as a Female Athletic Trainer

Linn Mobley paved the way for female athletic trainers in the 1980s, which started with her being a graduate student at Cal Poly from 1981 to 1984. Athletics has always been a part of her life, as before coming to Cal Poly she was a three-sport athlete at the University of Oklahoma. She competed in swimming, track, cross country through the IAIW league, and was also involved in the fencing club. Linn went to college at a time when women’s sports were just getting started along with Title IX.

Post college, Linn moved to Santa Barbara, California to take classes at the local community college and earn her recreation technician degree. This led her to take the next step in her career path and apply for graduate school. She decided on the Cal Poly Physical Education and Sports Medicine graduate school program because of the highly regarded training room that she heard about during her time in Santa Barbara. Linn knew that Cal Poly would be a place with lots of opportunities to grow and get out of her comfort zone.

Growth came with Linn having to prove herself at Cal Poly, as she was one of few women in a male-dominated work environment. She also came in during the 1980s, a time where society was just starting to allow female reporters in locker rooms. Linn had to overcome stigmatisms and assumptions that were made about women in the athletic field during this time. However, she persevered and ended up becoming the first female athletic trainer at Cal Poly to travel with the football team.

Linn says that the athletic department and instructors in her physical education program challenged her to be her best and wouldn’t take excuses for failing. This mindset towards women was an anomaly for the time, as often women were treated differently because of what Linn describes as an “inherently misogynistic culture”.

Linn describes the culture of the Cal Poly athletic training staff as family-like. Steve Yoneda was the head athletic trainer, and Linn said that among other staff events, he would treat the staff to Sunday breakfasts after the “aches and pains” clinic, which was to help football players recover after their Saturday game.

Something memorable from her time at Cal Poly that Linn holds onto is the overall approval and trust she gained from the athletes. This came near the end of her time after she made connections and developed trust with athletes. Some athletes would only allow Linn to tape them and help them with rehabilitation needs, showing her gift for connecting with students and being a source of trust in what can be a daunting setting.

Caring for Cal Poly and Beyond

After Cal Poly, Linn took an opportunity to work at Ather under Don Chu, a highly renowned instructor from Cal State Hayward. She worked with him from 1988 through 1991 as a Certified Athletic Trainer in his clinics that were in Danville and Castro Valley. At Ather, Linn got to work with professional athletes in the Bay Area, from teams such as the As, Warriors, and Raiders.

Then in 1992, an opportunity for a job in health insurance at Group Health Cooperative pushed Linn to move to Tacoma, Washington, where she currently resides.

Flash forward to 2011 when Linn became the CEO of Personal & Pet Concierge, a pet sitting, dog walking and playtime service for pets in the Tacoma area. This role is a different career trajectory for Linn but encompasses her passion for caring for others, whether that be humans or animals.

“We just have to imagine us walking on all fours to get an idea of what the animals go through,” Linn says

She says that her athletic training skills has carried over to taking care of people’s animals. In addition, watching football and learning how to care for athletes, in addition to her kinesiology and EMT background has helped her business thrive.

Linn wants to give back to Cal Poly, the school she credits with giving her the baseline for a successful career in physical therapy. She was drawn to first donate to the athletic department when head athletic trainer, Kristal Slover, sent out a fundraiser. Linn was propelled to help them get past their first goal.

Linn’s hope for Cal Poly’s future is that the athletic program would have enough money to support student trainers, so they are in a better financial situation than Linn was during her time at Cal Poly. She would love to see scholarships go to athletic trainers, as she believes that they are an essential component to the athletic program and should be treated as such.

Linn asks, “Where would the athletes be if the trainers weren’t there? Who’s going to tape the athletes?”

To make a donation to the Athletics Training Room, click on the link here. To learn more, contact Jenna Tognazzini, Assistant Athletic Director for Development, at jtognazz@calpoly.edu.