Graduate student in athletic training sees rare injuries in internship with extreme sports

Dylan Morgan’s goal during the summer of 2023 was to do something different. Mission accomplished.

Morgan, who’s entering his second year in the master’s degree in athletic training program at the University of Delaware, spent the summer working in extreme sports. He interned at Camp Woodward’s locations in Southern California and central Pennsylvania. During the weeklong sleepaway camp for children ages 7 to 17, Camp Woodward encourages adventure seekers to push their boundaries and break new barriers at its summer camp focused on BMX, skateboarding, parkour, scooter, and rollerblading.

Each week, professional extreme sports athletes visit the kids, who get to take part in their action videos.

“There’s a wide range in skill level at the camp,” Morgan said. “We have little guys who’ve never ridden on a skateboard coming here to learn, and a few kids, who even the professionals are like, ‘These kids are so close to going pro if they just keep at it and find the right avenue.’ ”

Morgan, a 2021 graduate of UD's Associate in Arts program, grew up playing soccer but always loved nontraditional sports.

“My father, who’s from Southern California, is big into skating and snowboarding; he knows Tony Hawk,” Morgan said of the skateboarding legend. “He really instilled that love for action and riding sports in me.”

But Morgan is too injury-prone to partake in such daredevil sports himself.

“My parents want to wrap me in bubble wrap anytime I do anything active,” he said jokingly. “I’ve sprained my ankle many times, injured my shoulder, and have had chronic issues from shooting archery my entire life.”

Those experiences inspired his career path.

“The athletic trainers I’ve had experience with helped me through all those injuries and worked to decrease the pain and make me stronger,” Morgan said.