Interview Write-up

Interview with Dave Groeschner

Prepared by Cole Strombom

We interviewed Mr. Groeschner at AT&T Park in San Francisco on April 12, 2010. Mr. Groeschner is the head trainer for the San Francisco Giants. He majored in athletic training and sports medicine. He has been a professional baseball trainer for eleven years, ten of those years he has been with the Giants. Since he has been dealing with major league baseball for the last decade, he had a lot of experience dealing with players who may have taken steroids, especially because of baseball’s recent steroid scandal. He provided a professional and knowledgeable inside source.
James and I were treated like adults from start to finish. Mr. Groeschner brought us into the dugout for the interview with no hesitation. We interviewed him while all of the players were warming up for their game. Being able to interview him in the dugout was an unreal experience. And although James and I were both in shock from being so close to the field and the players, it gave us a sense of comfort because Mr. Groeschner respected us, just like we respected him. He was very interested in our project and provided thorough answers to our questions. We conducted the entire interview, and after we continue to talk about baseball with him for another 15-20 minutes.
There were a few main points Mr. Groeschner made that I was expecting. He noted that players are influenced by outside sources, and that no one affiliated with a certain team would influence their players; by this I mean that no trainer, manager, coach, etc. would influence players in their organization to use steroids. I knew that steroids make the player become stronger more rapidly, and that most baseball players are big without using steroids. Also expected, Mr. Groeschner noted that if a certain player were caught using steroids, it would most definitely affect team chemistry as a whole, for example: Barry Bonds and Manny Ramirez. In other words, he stated that it is quite noticable to see a change in the team’s chemistry when a certain player is caught using steroids. It will effect the team’s physical performance, because that player will be suspended, as well as the team’s mental approach because they know that one of their teammates was using illegal performance enhancing drugs.
I was surprised to learn that the San Francisco Giants organization conducts a “non-steroid” camp for younger athletes. The goal of the camp is for them to teach and influence younger players on why not to use steroids. They also teach their players about steroids, and why not to use them. Mr. Groeschner also told us that, he works at the stadium, and the players live their own lives. You can teach them why not to use steroids, but in the end, it is the player’s decision.
I was extremely pleased with how the interview went. Mr. Groeschner was able to make connections to our social injustice by stating that using steroids is cheating, it sets a poor example for younger athletes, and delivers side effects to users. Not only was it a very cool experience, but a great learning experience too. Mr. Groeschner was a very nice guy, and made no assumptions about us. Since we were mature and respectful, he treated us the same way. The experience was great because we were all comfortable and casual, which led to well-thought questions, and even better answers.