When the whistle blows or the horn sounds that’s when, for most, the action stops. For athletic trainers, that’s usually when their work begins. Although athletic trainers can work in any environment — physician office, hospital, emergency room, physical therapy clinic, school, professional sports team — we often think of them as the ones on the sidelines that are the first to respond to any type of on the field injury.
But what most people don’t realize is that the majority of an athletic trainers job is done off the field — working with athletes, coaches, school nurses and parents to create injury prevention programs to keep those athletes safe and on the field long after the whistle blows.
There are over 41,000 certified athletic trainers in the United States, 710 in North Carolina and currently there are seven working within Randolph County and Asheboro City Schools. Randolph Athletic Training Services, a division of Randolph Hospital, has athletic trainers covering all high and middle schools throughout the community except for Trinity. They cover all sports, but spend more time covering football, wrestling, soccer, baseball, softball and volleyball.
“We try to give each sport equal coverage, but we are on the sidelines for the sports that have the greatest number of potential risks,” says Garrie Storie, athletic trainer at Asheboro High School. “The state of North Carolina requires that football and wrestling are covered due to high risk of injury, including concussions, and we work in the other sports as we are available.”
So what does a typical day look like for an athletic trainer?
“There really isn’t a typical day. I usually go to work at Asheboro High School around 1:30 p.m. and check in with the coaches and school nurses to follow up on current injured athletes and to consult and/or build programs for injury prevention,” Storie says. “When school is dismissed, I begin receiving athletes in the Athletic Training Room for treatment, rehabilitation and follow-up from physician appointments. Before hitting the sidelines I provide updates to coaches and parents on the status of the injured athlete. Then I’m on the sidelines for practice and all home games and travel to away football games. Depending on the sport, I might not get home until 1 a.m.”
While sideline coverage during practice and actual games is important, athletic trainers are heavily invested in education and injury prevention.
“Prevention is the hardest part of our job. You have to work to make it happen. It requires so much education – educating athletes, parents, and the entire healthcare team. We look at body mechanics, we employ therapeutic exercises and finally we create a lot of individualized programs to help athletes stay injury-free,” Storie says.
Storie not only supports Asheboro High School, but also athletes at both South Asheboro and North Asheboro Middle School. All told, she provides services for over 600 athletes.
“It’s a lot to keep up with, but the relationships you build with the parents and students, sometimes when they are at their most vulnerable state, following an injury and walking them through their emotions, diagnoses, treatment and being with them through recovery, is what keeps me focused and inspired,” Storie says. “Having an athlete give you a thumbs up when they have made it through recovery and are back on the court for the first time and knowing that I had a part in that — that’s pretty powerful.”
What’s in the future for athletic trainers?
While the industry continues to expand, less than half of all high schools in the United States have athletic trainers available to their athletes. Why is this? Lack of funding is the typical reason schools do not have athletic trainers. But athletic trainers more than pay for themselves. Athletic trainers are leaders in concussion recognition and concussion management and in the long run, the reduced injury rates, liability and medical expenses are enough to pay for the cost of athletic trainers.
While North Carolina might be behind the curve in the use of athletic trainers, Randolph County isn’t. The athletic training program in place in Randolph County is proving to be a model for other communities, especially in the area of concussion management. The concussion management program has been recognized and supported by multi-year funding from the Carolina Panthers Foundation and has established a 24-hour concussion hotline number, (336) 953-4173, to respond to concussion programs from across the country.
“We have a strong group of passionate athletic trainers that have built a Concussion Management and Equipment Removal Program that is setting the standard for other programs,” Storie says. “And now we are in the beginning phase of building a comprehensive Recovery Program.
As the athletic training profession continues to evolve, it is important to understand and acknowledge the vital service they provide student athletes. They keep athletes safe and get them back on the field the quickest and safest way possible. “We aren’t always the most popular person on the field.
“Our role is to protect our athletes so that they can thrive. If that means sitting them down and creating a return to play schedule that might take weeks for the athlete to complete, then that’s what has to happen to ensure that athlete’s safe return,” Storie says. “Our student athletes are in good hands. And even though there might be injuries, it is comforting to know there is an exceptional healthcare team working to continually access the short term and long term effects of those injuries and devise steps to ensure a safe return to play.”
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