Behind the scenes, athletic trainers are some of the most important people working in athletics. They do everything from helping with physical therapy to taping up players before a game. However, WA’s very own athletic trainer goes beyond the tasks his job requires; he is also a lively spirit in the athletic community. During March, National Athletic Trainers’ month, Westford celebrated Bill Bombaci who puts his heart and soul into supporting all of WA’s athletes.
Bombaci has been a major influence in the WA athletics department ever since he became a staff member in 1995. For almost 30 years, Bombaci has been helping athletes in various ways to prioritize their health before games and practices. Before joining WA’s athletic staff, Bombaci graduated from Central Connecticut State University with a degree in Commercial Health and Fitness and a masters degree in Physical Education with a concentration in athletic training. Prior to his graduation, Bombaci had to complete 1,500 hours of interning to be eligible to take the national certificate exam to be accredited as a licenced athletic trainer.
“I definitely had an idea that I wanted to do something with athletics and health and wellness, where I could be around active athletic people and help them,” Bombaci said. “I went to college knowing that and that guided me towards athletic training.”
Bombaci was able to accumulate those 1,500 hours of internship from multiple different places. Part of his intern hours was spent working at Central Connecticut State University where he was a graduate assistant. Bombaci was also taking care of students at a local area high school where he was working with their athletic trainer and completing many of the same jobs that he does now at WA.
After graduating and passing his certification exam, Bombaci worked at Suffolk University helping with whatever they needed in the athletic department. While working at Suffolk University, Bombaci would spend time helping out at a physical therapy clinic in the mornings and in the afternoon, he would go over to the university to work with the athletes.
“I absolutely fell in love with the profession, and fell in love with the job, and after being in those settings, I ended up doing a couple of different stints in physical therapy clinics,” Bombaci said. “I also spent some time working at a small college, and then decided I wanted to make it a more permanent thing of being in a high school setting.”
After working split days at Suffolk University for two years, Bombaci heard from one of his friends that there was a potential job opening at WA for an athletic trainer. Bombaci heard that the previous athletic trainer was moving and the position was therefore going to be left open. Initially, when Bombaci started at WA, he continued to work split days where he would work at a physical therapy clinic in the mornings and then come to WA in the afternoons. However, after three years, WA hired Bombaci as a full-time athletic trainer.
Now, having been at WA for nearly 30 years, Bombaci has done a variety of tasks that are out of the norm for athletic trainers. According to the Westford Academy Athletic Hall of Fame Executive Board, when Bomaci was inducted to the hall of fame in 2018, he had gone above and beyond his role as an athletic trainer. From playing a key role in initiating concussion screenings, to developing the Turfburners Speed and Conditioning program, Bombaci has made a variety of meaningful and lasting impacts on the athletic community.
As a result of Bombaci’s work, Westford Academy was one of the first schools in the region to start computer based concussion screenings. Now, baseline concussion screenings are an important part of athletes’ seasons as they are an incredibly useful process that helps evaluate potential future head injuries. Over the past year, with help from athletic department administrator Ariella Fleischer, a new concussion testing system, SWAY, has been set up as another more in-depth way of ensuring athletes’ safety.
With Turfburners, Bombaci created a speed and conditioning program that ran a few years ago that allowed athletes to work in the off-season to help prevent injuries and improve their performance during their seasons. Not only has Bombaci worked outside of school hours to help athletes, but he has also taught a Sports Medicine class to students at WA to further educate them.
According to Bombaci, when he first started working at WA, he thought that he would only remain at the school for around five years and then move on to another high school or a college working as an athletic trainer. However, after being here for a few years, he fell in love with WA and the community surrounding him.
“I enjoy being here. I have great support from all of my athletic directors that I’ve had, [and they] have been great to work with. I have also had great support from the administration, [with] good coaches and good kids,” Bombaci said. “After 29 years I still love coming to work every day and I still love doing what I do.”
Each work day for Bombaci can look a little different. His schedule depends on the kinds of activities that are going on that day and whether there are normally scheduled practices or multiple games scheduled. On a typical day, Bombaci gets to the school around noon and immediately takes care of any emails that he has to respond to or rehab notes he may have to write. He sets up for practices or later games, making phone calls to physical therapists and doctors that athletes may be seeing outside of school. Then, once school gets out and athletes start getting ready for practices and games, Bombaci gets a little busier as athletes come into the Coughlin building to get prepped for practice or continue rehabilitating from their injuries with Bombaci. On most nights Bombaci is out of WA by around 6:30 pm, however, on game days, he clocks out later, especially if he has to go to away games that may be off campus.
Not only does Bombaci help athletes with any injuries or discomfort, but he is also a mentor to young aspiring athletic trainers. Last year during senior capstone, Bombaci mentored seniors Tate Stephen and Will Tarbox who shadowed Bombaci and presented on the everyday tasks of athletic training that they learned over the course of their capstone with Bombaci. Currently, Bombaci also has a graduate student, Rachel DiBona, who is working with him to complete her final steps in her masters program to become an athletic trainer.
Outside of WA, and during the summer, Bombaci does not halt his work as an athletic trainer. While Bombaci loves spending time with his family, playing golf, and going on vacation over the break, he also spends a lot of his time helping out at camps over the summer and also continuing rehab with certain athletes to get them ready for their fall or winter sports.
“I love going to the beach [and] staying active and getting to spend time with family and friends that I don’t always get to do during the school year because of my schedule,” Bombaci said.
While Bombaci is an incredible Athletic Trainer and pillar of WA athletics, he is also a genuinely good person according to Fleischer. Everybody who works with him talks about how he not only has the skills to help athletes, but he is also incredibly personable. He has made connections with many of the athletes and members of the athletic department which could last a lifetime.
“It’s so fun working with [Bombaci. He] has a great sense of humor and has such an ability to connect with student-athletes,” Fleischer said. “My favorite thing about working with him is seeing that even after almost 30 years of working at WA, he still has such a dedication to this school, and the staff and students here. He shows up everyday with a positive attitude and continues to be so invested in all of our athletic teams. He is a perfect example of the saying ‘if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.'”
