There are a lot of underpaid, unsung employees in the University of Wisconsin Athletic Department, but if you ask me, one group stands out for a variety of reasons.

They're almost always the first ones in the locker room before every practice. They're almost always the last ones out.

They make every trip and attend every workout with every UW team whether it's an in-season scrimmage or a voluntary conditioning session during the summer.

Their expertise can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Their expertise can mean the difference between life and death.

They're on call pretty much 24/7 and have the explicit trust of Badgers coaches as well as student-athletes.

The men and women of the UW athletic training staff don't tend to complain about any of that stuff.

The many athletic trainers I've gotten to know over the years are pretty humble, friendly, even-keeled people who clearly love what they do and, just as clearly, prefer that their work stay off the radar screen.

They share one prominent complaint, though, and it has to do with an identity crisis.

They want to be known by a specific title: athletic trainers.

Problem is, people hear that a person works in sports, that the word "trainer" is somewhere in their title and, boom, a huge misconception is born.

A great example of this came during the Congressional hearings in which Major League pitcher Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee were grilled about their history with performance-enhancing drugs.

Clemens once employed McNamee as his personal trainer, which many people incorrectly assume is the same work Clark Pearson does for the UW football team, Henry Perez-Guerra does for men's basketball, Jennifer Pepoy does for women's hockey and Kristy Walker does for men's track and field.

Unlike personal trainers, athletic trainers are required to have at least a bachelor's degree, must pass a rigorous three-part exam, must participate in continuing education courses and must be acknowledged by a single national certifying agency: the National Athletic Trainers Association.

Another misconception generated by the Clemens-McNamee saga and others like it is the notion trainers not only have access to PEDs -- steroids and human growth hormones -- but are more than willing to dispense them.

It's got to be disconcerting to someone who works as a certified athletic trainer that people might link him or her to McNamee, who testified that he routinely injected Clemens with various steroids.

Athletic trainers aren't in the business of administering injections -- B-12 or whatever -- nor is it their job to author and monitor drug cycles for athletes looking to get an illicit edge.

Athletic trainers, such as the ones at UW, work under licensed physicians and are responsible for administering emergency and immediate follow-up care for 800 or so student-athletes.

Not only are the athletic trainers at UW deeply involved with their assigned teams, they also work closely with students aspiring to go down the same career path.

Injuries are a way of life in sports and the ability to help an athlete recover is nothing to take for granted.

It's a profession that deserves the utmost respect.