How Intern Maxim Allor Helps Keep Athletes off the Bench

For Moses Brown School, a private middle and high school in Providence, Rhode Island, athletics are a big part of campus culture. Sixty-seven Moses Brown athletics teams train and compete in 17 different sports for three seasons a year. And they all have Maxim Allor ’26, who is pursuing his Exercise and Sports Science B.S. at Johnson & Wales University, on their team.

That’s because Allor has been interning at Moses Brown this spring, helping their athletic trainer with injury prevention, treatment and recovery.

“My internship advisor, Melanie Rainone, helped me find this opportunity,” Allor shares. “I needed an athletic-related internship near campus, as I don’t have a car. Moses Brown is the perfect site, and I’m lucky because it’s a great institution. It’s very well known, and its athletics are at a really high level. The students and staff have been great, and I think that contributes to their good reputation.”

What It’s Like Working with High School Athletes

“We prepare for any event, even if some days nothing happens,” says Allor. “It’s our job to help students with injuries — but when no one is injured it’s a good day! The students come in before practice or games and we show them stretches or do some foam rolling or deep tissue massage. I’ll take care of minor injuries while the trainer handles the more complicated issues.”

Several days a week, Allor arrives at Moses Brown around 3:30pm before practice starts; games are held around 4:30pm. “Right now with spring, outdoor sports such as baseball, tennis, squash, lacrosse and track are in full swing, with football starting soon,” he explains. “Games are our priority, but if someone gets hurt in practice, the coach will call, and I’ll run over. It’s very situational; we’re constantly adapting.”

Allor sees a lot of camaraderie in Moses Brown’s athletics. “The love these kids have for the athletic trainer, Joyce [Freeman], shows. She’s super sweet and funny, and she really knows her stuff. Even when they don’t have any injuries, students will come in just to hang out and talk to her.”

Freeman and Allor are ready for serious moments, too. “We’re there as first responders, and when things do happen, we’re like EMTs, there to administer first aid.”

The types of injuries Allor tends to see the most: “Sometimes an athlete will fall back and hit their head. In basketball, athletes might pivot wrong and twist a knee or ankle. Collisions can sometimes occur. When injuries happen, we need to be able to know what to do. Getting to see Joyce switch into such a confident leader is inspiring.”

Applying JWU Skills to an Athletic Internship

How his JWU classes prepare Allor: “I use skills from the classes like Clinical Exercise Physiology and Human Performance. They taught me a lot about how the body works, where injury is possible and what to do in those scenarios.”

“When a student comes in with some kind of tear or weird soreness, the athletic trainer will ask me what I think or I’ll add my input into the injury,” states Allor. “If someone has a knee injury such as hinges rubbing against each other or a muscle tear, she’ll ask what I think it could be or how long they’ll be out for.”

Allor also developed some leadership skills as vice president of JWU’s eSports Club during his time at Johnson & Wales. “It’s pretty ironic that an Exercise and Sports Science major would be VP of a video game club,” he laughs.

Athletic Trainers Supporting the Next Generation

Allor isn’t the only one learning from Moses Brown School’s athletic director, Joyce Freeman. “It’s a pretty small department so it can seem overwhelming at times, but she has a couple of student trainers who are high schoolers. I think it’s great that Moses Brown does that; I haven’t seen other schools bring kids on their staff.”

Both the student athletes and students on staff are starting to trust Allor more. “They’re opening up more and will ask me questions about things,” he shares. “Recently a student had a hamstring injury, and the athletic trainer asked for my opinion on how long she’ll be out for track; it’s cool that I’m trusted to give my opinion. I get nervous sometimes as I don’t want to say the wrong thing, but I’ve become confident in my ability to gauge these things.”

Having a Unique Perspective of Athletes

Although he’s there for all athletes, he does admit to one favorite sport: “I’m particularly interested in the track athletes because I used to compete as a long-distance runner in high school.”

In fact, Allor returned to running last year, finding opportunities to compete around Rhode Island. His first was “Black Goose,” a half marathon in East Providence put on by Ocean State Multisport. He also completed the Flutie 5K for Autism race held at JWU's Harborside Campus in October. And, as he races toward the finish line of his time at both Moses Brown and JWU, he has more accomplishments ahead.

“I’m currently training for a half marathon in East Providence with Run Rhody,” he shares. That’s on May 17 — just a couple weeks after he’ll receive his Exercise and Sports Science degree. At both events, we hope he’ll hear cheers.

What’s Next for Allor

Athletics training has been a perfect training ground for Allor: “I’d like to work with athletes in the future. I really want to help people, whether as a physician assistant, physical therapist, athletic trainer or personal trainer. My internship correlates perfectly with that.”

For now, he’s tapping into healthcare. “I’ve accepted a full-time position as a medical scribe in a primary care facility,” he says of his upcoming job documenting patients’ histories, exams and treatment plans. “I plan to do that for at least a year, then maybe apply to physical therapy or physician assistant programs.”

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