Humble. Caring. Hardworking.
 
You can hear it in his voice, the way he connects with others, his actions on the field or in the trainer's room, and the way others speak of him.
 
His name is Eric Owens, LAT, ATC, EMT, the Associate Head Athletic Trainer at Tennessee State University.
 
Owens, a retired Hospital Corpsman with the United States Marine Corps, graduated from Middle Tennessee State ('99) with a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training. After retiring from the US Navy Reserves in 2009, he earned his Master of Education from Lipscomb University.
 
On Saturday, March 19, the Tennessee Athletic Trainers' Society recognized Owens at the 2022 TATS Award Ceremony at Montgomery Bell State Park. Owens, a native of Moultrie, Ga., was tabbed the Eugene Smith/Mickey O'Brien College Athletic Trainer of the Year by the state-wide organization.
 
"Being named that (TATS Athletic Trainer of the Year) was a great honor" said Eric Owens, as he thinks of himself as one of the "grand old athletic trainers" in the state.
 
"It's been a great ride, about 21 years – I used to look up to people that were in the position I am now and that's kind of impressive. I've got athletic trainers calling me now, which is kind of cool. I'm not saying I'm the best in the world, but I definitely have advice, knowledge and experience that I've gained in 21 years." humbly said Owens.
 
"I'm one of those guys that likes to pay it forward – as a clinical instructor, I've led, guided and instructed about 15-20 AT's that are successful in their own right. I'd like to think I had a little part to do with that."
 
In addition, the Ohio Valley Conference made a tribute to military veterans during the OVC Basketball Championships on March 5 – through a program called, "Hoops for Heroes", which honors veterans from schools across the conference. Since 2011, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) of the OVC selects a representative from each school and invites them to attend the OVC Basketball Championships.
 
Although he honorably received recognition and spotlight at halftime, Owens showed humility as he said, "I don't consider what I did in my 20 years as heroic. You ask about any veteran; they'll tell you they're just doing their job… I'm not accepting this for me, I'm accepting this for the veterans."
 
"I don't really like the word hero. I've had a lot of heroes not come home. For me to go about my day-to-day and do my job in a civilian world, I think that honor belongs to other people, but I'm glad to be able to represent veterans that are associated with TSU." said Owens.
 
The 52-year-old southerner nodded at the word "advocacy" as he said, "I look at it as I stand on the shoulders of the real heroes … they gave their forever for my tomorrow."
 
Owens mentioned the award as a "great recognition and great honor … to be a representation of their service and a small part from my service, humbling is the best word I can use."
 
His peers, student-athletes and family members are fascinated by the husky, military-built, father figure. Between his work ethic, personality, and care for others – the 'grocery list' of praise pours in from various avenues.
 
"I've known Eric for a very long time, but some of the things that make him deserving: his ethic, how hard he works, his love for our profession, his love for his student-athletes and his dedication to our profession" said Assistant Athletic Trainer and TATS Hall of Famer, Brad Swope "... he'll do anything for his student-athletes or anyone; Eric is always willing to drop what he's doing to care for someone who walks through our door."
 
Men's basketball guard Dedric Boyd has spent his fair amount of time in the training room whether rehabbing or staying in shape. The transfer from Illinois State mentioned, "Eric is a good athletic trainer because he does what he's gotta do to get us in the best shape – where we can play ball at a high level."
 
Owens' positivity, hard-work mentality and professional demeanor is infectious as Boyd said, "I've only known him for a few months and every time I see him, he's always in a great mood and ready to work."
 
Speaking on his demeanor, the veteran AT has a sense of calmness in the heat of the moment. He attributes that to his training as an EMT and corpsman, as well as mentors like Shannon Gordon (Vanderbilt), Paul Federici (Vanderbilt/Iowa) and Tim Hoskins (Vanderbilt).
 
"When something goes wrong on the field or court, I'm the calmest person in the room. To be able to rapidly assess and keep the athlete calm … when an athlete looks into my eyes and I'm as calm as I can be – that translates to calmness in their situation."
 
At times, the military veteran can be blunt or straight forward, but "these players know where it comes from – true desire to help them and be their friend." Owens said. "I get as close to the athlete as I possibly can. I say, I'm your friend – not your buddy – as I think there still needs to be that professionalism."
 
The AT and student-athlete have a unique relationship as they need to be honest and show empathy towards each other. Both Owens and Swope mentioned how relationship building with the student-athlete is key to the job.
 
"Eric does a fantastic job getting to know his student-athletes and I think being another father figure for them, alongside their coaches." Swope added, "We (as athletic trainers) often times, know more about a student-athlete than maybe even their parents do."
 
When asked about his interest in becoming an athletic trainer, Owens mentioned, "When I was growing up in south Georgia playing sports, we never had an athletic trainer. I love athletics, I love helping people. With my medical background, it was a perfect fit."
 
Owens instilled that athletic interest in his children at a young age, as his son Connor became the Lipscomb University baseball batboy at eight years old. Currently, Connor is reporting on Lipscomb baseball, while doing the Public Address at Lipscomb Academy.
 
The elder Owens inspires another message to Connor and his extended TSU 'children': love what you do.
 
"This job does not come without its challenges, frustrations, and time commitment, but you've got to love what you do. If you don't love what you do, you're not going to be very good at it – and that's going to come across and the athletes will pick up on it."
 
Needless to say, Eric Owens loves his job – and is pretty darn good at it, according to the new piece of hardware on his wall.