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North Dakota Athletic Trainers take care of the mustangs

Athletics are an important part of the high school experience.

They give students a reason to cheer and encourage school spirit. But what happens when athletes get hurt?

That’s where athletic trainers step in.

Sheyenne’s top athletic trainer, Shannon Olson, has been working here for almost nine years, helping the students. “I prevent, treat, rehab injuries”, Olson said. “[I] get [the players] ready for practice, and help them get back to health if injury occurs.”

Helping with practices and pre-practice injuries this year is the newly-hired trainer, Becca Erickson. Sheyenne isn’t the only school that Erickson’s worked with before. “I worked at a private boarding school in Indiana last year as a PRN athletic trainer.”

While Olson and Erickson are the predominate trainers here, they are not the only ones helping the players. Students also have the opportunity to take on the same tasks and responsibilities as student trainers. One such student is a junior Julia Fischer who helps with injuries on the football team. After joining the team, she became fond of the job. “I like being super involved and learning new skills [and] cheering on my team,” Fischer said.

While she doesn’t see athletic training as main career choice, she plans to use her new knowledge in her future. “I want to go into psychology or something with children. This will be a useful skill to have if I do end up working with children, because I’ll know how to help if they are hurt.”

Senior Andy Stephan, and wide receiver on the football team, provided more insight on the athletic trainers and the importance of their job. “I think that the athletic training team are really great ladies [and] are very important because you’ll have a lot of injuries,” Stephan said. “They make sure everyone is okay they get the injury and they are really caring for them.”

Volleyball coach, Leah Newton, also commented on the athletic trainers’ abilities.

“They have been available to help with treatment and diagnosing injuries versus non-injuries. They are able to go in for treatment on site instead of waiting to go in, which is really nice.”

From the outside, athletic training may seem insignificant, for people who don’t know what it is. The athletic trainers here are a huge part of the sports department and our school. Their job is incredibly crucial and our athletes would be in worse shape with them.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.westfargopioneer.com/news/3855109-mustang-weekly-what-does-athletic-trainer-do