Carroll ends career in public education in hall of fame

For 32 years, Texas high school student-athletes had a future hall of fame athletic trainer in Mike Carroll on the sidelines ready at any moment should an injury occur. Carroll’s career in public education comes to an end at the conclusion of this school year as he rides off into retirement.

Carroll has spent three decades giving to his community, and through positions on national boards and attendance at conferences across the world, he has dedicated his life to both high school student athletes and the future of athletic training.

With father Robert Carroll, who worked as a physician in the private sector, but also spent time as team physician for Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Carroll grew up on the sidelines alongside the Lumberjacks and had a good idea early in life that this is what he wanted to do.

“Some of my earliest memories are being on the sidelines at football games, with my father,” Carroll said. “...as I grew up, I loved sports and I was not a very good athlete. So I was trying to figure out a way to stay around athletics and the healthcare aspect dovetailed into it.”

After graduating from Nacogdoches High School in 1986, Carroll attended Texas A&M. Through the help of a neighbor, Duncan Webb, who played tight end for the Aggies, Carroll started on the medical staff for the football team in the fall of 1986. He also served on the baseball team.

Following college graduation, on the advice of his advisor, Frank Walters, Carroll went on to graduate school. It was continuing to follow in his father’s footsteps when he moved to Virginia and attended graduate school at the University of Virginia, just as both his mother, Ruth, and father had.

While originally wanting to be a Division I college athletic trainer, Carroll knew it would be difficult with few jobs at the time and heavy competition. He eventually moved back to Texas after earning a master’s degree and started his career at Kempner High School in Sugar Land. It was at Kempner High School where Carroll met current Graham ISD Assistant Superintendent Robert Loomis, who was a freshman football coach in 1992.

Carroll’s time at Kempner only lasted one year, when he went into the private sector for three years, working for an orthopedist. While still working in that office, he continued outreach work for smaller high schools in the area for three years before returning to public education at Sweeney High School. It was in Sweeney where Carroll married his wife, DeNae. 

Carroll’s career at Sweeney lasted nine years until moving on due to changes at the administrative level. He worked briefly in Georgetown before receiving a call from another familiar name about moving to Stephenville.

“Chad (Morris) had just got the job at Stephenville and had interviewed me at a different high school and I had turned down the job,” Carroll said. “When he got the job at Stephenville, his athletic trainer had left...I went there and took the job and it was a great place. I really enjoyed it.”

Spending 15 years in Stephenville, it was where Carroll thought he would finish his career. However, after the administration saw several changes, Carroll decided one more move was necessary. In 2018, he moved to Graham.

Carroll knew multiple people in the Graham community already, and a job opportunity had just opened up. He said Graham was perfect for him, both in size, and he knew it was a school with a lot of community support. It was a move that, while not originally planned, brought Carroll and his family to the place that’s now home.

“Graham has been my favorite school district to work for of the six that I’ve worked for,” he said. “While I’ve loved it here, I just think it’s time to step away from the full-time aspect of the job.”

His career in athletic training was something Carroll always knew he wanted to pursue.

“I have a lot of friends that sit there and go ‘I wish I was this or I wish I was that,’ and I’ve never said I wish I was doing something besides athletic training. So I really think it is the perfect profession for me,” Carroll said.

Working at the secondary school level, Carroll said, was a joy, and working at Graham was ultimately the perfect fit for him. He said he’s experienced some of the most supportive coaches and has largely experienced consistency in both district and high school leadership.

Aside from serving as the head athletic trainer, Carroll has served the high school as an assistant athletic director, where he has assisted in facility schedule management and helped coaches as needed with scheduling. He serves nationally on the National Federation of State High School Associations’ publishing committee and has spent time on other national committees.

Carroll’s career in public education will end in the hall of fame. He will be inducted into the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame at this year’s Clinical Symposia & Expo when it takes place June 29-July 2 in Philadelphia. According to the NATA website, the NATA Hall of Fame honors those who exemplify exceptional leadership and professional accomplishments at district, national and international levels. 

Carroll is one of seven inductees this year. An accomplishment, Carroll said, was possible in part due to the support he’s received in Graham.

While his hall of fame career comes to an end, Carroll ends it with gratitude for both the Graham ISD administration and the community as a whole. He said Graham helped him put both of his kids, Nolan and Laney, through college. 

Laney, who graduated from Graham High School in 2022, recently graduated with a master’s degree in Business Analytics & Data Science. Nolan, a 2019 GHS graduate, graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in information systems/data management. DeNae continues work in Graham as a real estate agent.

“I just want to thank the people of Graham…and the school district just for all the support we have,” he said. “It’s a pretty special place. I just want to thank everybody for the support. For me and for the profession of athletic training. We are not going anywhere. We love it here.”