When the opportunity came knocking to work as an athletic trainer at the college level, Jimmy Cano opened the door to live out his dream.
After 22 years of being an athletic trainer at the high school and professional level, Cano was recently hired as the new assistant athletic trainer at Sul Ross State.
Cano, a San Antonio native and 1987 graduate of Southwest High School, worked for two years in Uvalde.
"Getting an opportunity to come to Sul Ross, to me, was like something that I've been working for my whole career," Cano said. "I always strived to get to the college level. God blessed me with this opportunity."
>> GAINING EXPERIENCE:
Cano served in the military working as a combat medic from 1992-1996 as he was in the Army Reserve.
He then received his bachelor's from the University of New Mexico in 1999 where he got to see Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher.
The late legendary head coach Sonny Detmer gave Cano his first job at Somerset High School on the southwest side of San Antonio in 2000.
Cano also had stops at John F. Kennedy High School, Dillard McCollum High School, John Jay High School and Roosevelt High School.
In addition to his long stint at the high school level, Cano served as an athletic training intern for the Double-A San Antonio Missions from 1997-1999.
Cano also worked in the North American Hockey League, a second-tier junior hockey division, serving stints with the Corpus Christi IceRays and the New Mexico Ice Wolves in Albuquerque.
Curiosity got Cano involved in sports medicine after suffering a knee injury in high school.
"I love kids. I like trying to help them rehab and help open doors and opportunities for them," Cano added. "I'm always trying to continue to grow and better myself."
>> SMALL TOWN FEEL:
Spending time in the small, tight-knit community of Uvalde made transitioning to Alpine very easy for Cano.
When Cano arrived in Uvalde, it was just two years prior to the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School.
Cano returned to Uvalde to pay his respects to the victims.
"A lot of those kids were like the little brothers and sisters of my athletes," he said. "Once you're in a small town like Uvalde it's equivalent to being here in Alpine."
>> A GOOD FIT:
All of Cano's experiences at the various levels helped prepare him for this new opportunity.
Cano will get the chance to work on his master's at Sul Ross State while also helping prepare student trainers for the next level in their lives.
"It just seemed like a good fit," Cano said. "This is a pretty nice environment. I feel like Billy Ray Laxton and I are going to work well together.
"They're going to invest in me. I want to give 100 percent effort to be the best I can."
Billy Ray Laxton, the associate athletic director for sports medicine, is thrilled to have Cano on his staff.
"He's knowledgeable, very kind, patient and willing to do the job," Laxton said about Cano. "Those are great qualities to make a good athletic trainer."
