Tag: Athletic Trainer

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Internal Yale report calls for more athletic trainers

Article reposted from Yale News
Author: 

The Yale College Council on Saturday published a report recommending that Yale’s athletic department invest in more athletic trainers, expand meal swipe options and start a tutoring program for student-athletes.

Authored by the Yale Task Force on Student Athletes, the report is based on data gathered from a November town hall, a series of surveys, an assessment of athletic facilities at other Ivy League schools and the personal experiences of members of the Yale Student Athlete College Council.

“The YCC, with input from YSAAC, realized last year that changes were needed to improve athletes’ experiences at Yale,” said Christopher Gunther ’17, a co-author of the report who was a member of the task force last year. “The best way to pinpoint the issues and research and recommend changes was through a student run task force, comprising student-athletes and non-athletes alike.”

The report’s recommendations are divided into four categories: athletic medicine, nutritional resources, academic resources and student-athlete integration.

Much of the data in the report comes from the YSACC’s January 2017 survey, in which 60 percent of the 232 respondents answered that do not always have a trainer present during practice, a violation of NCAA rules. And of the 50 respondents who answered a question in the survey about sports medicine at Yale, 42 percent said they found outside doctors more helpful than the medical professionals at Yale Health.

Jason Cordone, Yale’s head athletic trainer, said in the report that that response might reflect the fact that “the athletic trainer does not have to be physically present at the practice, only in the area so they can respond quickly if they are needed.”

The report also addresses the lack of nutritional resources for student-athletes. According to the 2017 YSACC survey, 90 percent of student-athletes said the 7:30 p.m. closing time of dining halls is too early and makes it difficult to coordinate practice times. Additionally, the report concludes that many athletes are unaware of the resources available to them, including Yale Health’s nutritionist and dietician, Lisa Canada.

“The numbers I actually see, vary every year, but largely, I think this is an under-utilized resource for our athlete population,” Canada said in the report.

The report also compares the academic resources available to Yale athletes with those offered across the Ivy League. Even though more than 77 percent of student-athletes who responded to the 2017 survey believed that athletics participation has affected their overall GPA, Yale provides free tutoring for athletes only if they are earning a C or below in a class. On the other hand, institutions like Cornell and Dartmouth have tutors available for all student-athletes on request and free of charge.

To meet the needs of student-athletes, the report suggests that the administration allocate “appropriate funds” for athlete-specific tutors, create a student-athlete study space and keep athletes’ demands in mind when creating course and section timings.

The final section of the report addresses student-athlete integration, which the YCC task force deemed especially important to improve. While 59 percent of non-athlete students who responded to YCC’s 2017 survey said they agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I have a positive opinion of Yale student-athletes,” just 33 percent of athlete respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement “In my opinion, the Yale student body supports student athletes.”

The report suggests increased interaction between athletes and non-athletes as a way to combat this bias. Recommendations include the creation of an Athletic Bazaar similar to the Extracurricular Bazaar held at Payne Whitney Gym at the start of each academic year, the introduction of a weekly newsletter by Yale Athletics to enhance advertising for games and the expansion of the athletic director’s office hours.

While some of the task force’s ideas — such as the weekly sports email — have already been implemented, Gabby Nelson ’19, co-president of YSACC, said she hopes more of the recommendations outlined in the report are taken into consideration.

“While drafting the report I met with [outgoing athletic director] Tom Beckett,” Nelson said. “And when the new athletic director is ushered in, I also plan on meeting with her to discuss it and a few other ideas even if it is after my tenure as co-president.”

And Gunther said that while there are “tradeoffs that must be made,” the task force is hopeful that the University will recognize the need for these changes over time.

According to Cordone, the Yale athletics department is “continually evaluating” its services and facilities for the 35 varsity sports teams at the college.

“There are conversations with administration that include staffing and facilities enhancements and upgrades,” Cordone told the News. “I can say that when new facilities are being proposed that our sports performance needs are strongly considered.”

Eight hundred thirty three varsity athletes attend Yale College.

Aakshi Chaba | aakshi.chaba@yale.edu

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Roughly Half of California Schools are Without Athletic Trainers

Article reposted from Fox 40
Author: 

According to the California Interscholastic Federation, there are more than 800,000 high school athletes in the state but California does not require schools to have certified athletic trainers at practices and games.

“Absolutely, we have to fix it. It is alarming because health and safety questions on the sidelines of a football game, or about concussions, or in a gym at a volleyball match are being made by coaches and not a medical professional,” CIF Director Roger Blake said.

The CIF has made it one of its top priorities recently to educate principals, superintendents and athletic directors on the importance of having athletic trainers because the decision to hire or not hire athletic trainers at the high school level is a district decision, just like hiring a teacher. It can cost between $50,000 to $100,000. Many schools, especially in the Sacramento region, have been told no by their districts when it comes to funding an athletic trainer.

“I don’t know how you dictate to a business that you must have this, and you must have them pay for it. So, if you look at it from a business standpoint I think it’s hard. From a ‘want’ standpoint, absolutely,” Oak Ridge High School Athletic Director Stephen White said.

The solution Oak Ridge found was to pay for an athletic trainer through its sports booster club.

“He comes here three days a week for about an hour and sees any of the kids who have injuries or nicks or bumps and bruises and evaluate if they need to get looked at further, or they’re just hurt,” White said.

Still, that means parents, volunteers and often coaches must take it upon themselves in assessing injuries, concussions, heat stroke, cardiac arrest and more. Some of those require an immediate response.

“Coaches are required to be CPR and ADA First Aid certified, but in my opinion, it’s not enough,” Turlock High School athletic trainer Mike Collins said.

Collins has been with Turlock High School as its athletic trainer since 198. He’s aware that what he’s able to provide to student-athletes is a luxury to most other California schools.

Darci Calista is one of three athletic trainers at Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento, one of the best programs in the state. The private school even educates students who want to possibly work in the medical field someday. The decision to fund the program is entirely up to the school and is a primary example of the benefits of having a trained medical professional work with student-athletes.

“I would hope people could make it more of a priority, especially with the concussion protocols,” Calista said. “I know how long it takes us, and how valuable it is to have a liaison between the doctor and the parents and the coaches and the athlete.”

One big wrinkle in the problem is that California is the only state that does not regulate the profession of athletic training, meaning anyone can call themselves an athletic trainer — whether they are certified or not.

Legislation on the matter is making its way through the State Capitol.

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Fort Wayne Komets rallying around athletic trainer’s daughter

Article reposted from News Sentinel
Author: BLAKE SEBRING

With a smile that lights up her eyes and a giggle that is a gift from God, 4-year-old Makayla Willett has some of Fort Wayne’s toughest and strongest athletes willing to do just about anything for her. She also might be more resilient than all of them.

Makayla’s dad is Fort Wayne Komets athletic trainer Matt Willett so she’s around the rink and the team frequently, but one place the players never expected to find her was at Lutheran Children’s Hospital. When the team made their recent annual Christmas visit, Makayla and her mom and dad were there for what to them has become a normal, weekly visit, but it’s something that would terrify any other parents.

Makayla deals with Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP), a disease that afflicts between 4.3 and 5.3 kids per 100,000 and limits her production of platelets which are critical to clotting and stopping bleeding. A normal count is 150,000 to 450,000, but Makayla’s counts have bounced between as low as 4,000 and as high as 73,000.

There’s no consistency so she suffers horrific bruises. If she runs into the corner of a couch, instead of a normal 7-to-10 day window for a bruise, she’ll have a deep, dark bruise for at least three weeks, and simple wounds like a paper cut or a hangnail can be serious challenges.

RELATED: Platelet Disorder Support Association

“A normal cut that would take 30 seconds to stop on any child, could take five-to-10 minutes for her,” Matt Willett said. “When you go for a blood draw, the puncture wound bleeds for 10 minutes and instantly bruises, when in most kids you never even see the stick point. She smashed her finger between a chair and a table at school, and her finger turned completely black.”

Maybe obviously, at times medical personnel have questioned possible abuse until the parents have explained their situation.

The biggest worry is that she somehow suffers a head wound because that could require a quick emergency room visit. A bloody nose was once a 10-minute affair.

“This is just the roller coaster we get to ride,” Jenny Willett said calmly. “It’s normal for us at this point.”

No one knows the cause, though the Willetts have heard four or five possibilities from doctors who are sometimes educating themselves about the disease as much as her parents. It’s not thought to be hereditary or genetic, but her parents have searched their own medical records and memories to see if there were any similar incidents when they were children.

One of Makayla’s unique factors she didn’t experience any symptoms until she was 3 years old when an Aug. 16, 2016, lab test showed her platelets had dropped to 11,000. An infusion pushed them back to 32,000 and the week after that the numbers went to 271,000 but then dropped back to 113,000 to 96,000 to 45,000. By December 2016 they had rebounded to 132,000, but by March they had dropped again to 36,000. Recently, they were recorded at 73,000, but last week they were all over the place.

The Willetts have a standing lab order at Dupont Hospital for weekly blood draws to check Makayla’s platelet count. Her current treatment consists of weekly injections which the Willetts do themselves at home. There are nearly daily calls to the office of Dr. Lubua Ahmed at Lutheran Children’s Hospital to check lab results, adjust the dosage or ask for advice. Since August, Makayla and her parents have visited the doctor’s office 15 times.

Makayla knows the routine so well she’s usually ahead of the procedures, such as pulling up her hair so her ears can be checked. Last week was a rough one, but she powered through as if getting poked and taking infusions were normal.

“She’s been to more doctors appointments in four years than I have in 34,” Matt Willett said. “I can’t even count how many doctors visits she’s been to.

“A lot of it is if mom and dad freak out about it, she freaks out about it. Jenny and I have to maintain as much calm as possible. As much as we want to cry, throw things and get mad, you have to maintain a level head.”

But that must be impossible. How do you try to protect a 4-year-old with the usual incredible energy and invulnerable attitude? There’s no cocoon to place her in, no way to avoid everything that can happen.

So the Willetts have chosen to let Makayla experience life as normally as possible, trusting in their faith that God will protect her and guide them. As they see it, it’s really their only option.

“We’re beyond questioning, `God, why are you doing this to us?’ “ Matt Willett said. “We’re at the point now that it has brought us closer in our faith and in our family, and now it’s about how can our faith help us in the healing process as well? You trust that God is going to get you through these challenges. That’s what we’re trying to teach her.”

And they rely on friends to give them a boost, such as the Komets who have been very supportive. The players all know the situation and continually ask Willett for updates. Her favorite player is, of course, Cody Sol who always responds to her with a high five. When she was told the guys would be at the hospital for the Christmas visit at the same time, her eyes just lit up.

“The guys are absolutely amazing,” Jenny Willett said.

“She just eats it up,” Matt Willett said. “She’s got them all wrapped around her little finger. To have the support and the understanding from your employer or who you work with the most helps tremendously. For being how much I’m not home, they understand that the time we do get with our families is precious.”

Both the Willetts grew up in Huntington, and the proximity to both their families was a big reason why Matt took the Komets job last summer through Optimum Sports Performance. He previously worked at St. Joe College in Rensselaer before it closed following last school year.

They’ve needed every ounce of that support and know they will likely need more.

“We don’t want her to feel like she’s different than anybody,”Matt Willett said. “We want her to have as normal enough childhood that she can despite this.”

And those smiles and the giggles make everything worth it.

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Bears rally behind Potsdam assistant athletic trainer diagnosed with cancer

Article reposted from Watertown Daily Times
Author: ABRAHAM KENMORE

About a month ago, Alex Berking, an assistant athletic trainer at SUNY Potsdam, went to the Canton-Potsdam Hospital with headaches and vision problems. A few days later, she was undergoing surgery at the University of Vermont Medical Center to remove 90 percent of a cancerous brain tumor.

Now Ms. Berking is preparing for radiation and chemotherapy treatment to eliminate the last of the tumor with the support of the SUNY Potsdam community.

During the women’s hockey game on Tuesday, Ms. Berking skated out to join the team for their photo out on the ice.

“The players really like her,” said Daniel H. Bronson, SUNY Potsdam sports information director. “I think she’s pretty close to the team.”

Ms. Berking joined the athletic department before the 2015-16 season, and works with players on a number of teams, including hockey, lacrosse and soccer, evaluating injuries and helping them recover.

“She’s a great person,” said Michael Pitts, head athletic trainer. “Most people, if they got news like that, would go into a shell — but not Alex.”

Ms. Berking’s diagnosis came about a year after her father, Christopher Berking, died of cancer. This past summer, her sister, Meghan Berking, ran across the country in honor of their father, covering over 4,000 miles with a team of runners to raise money for the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults.

As Ms. Berking faces her own cancer treatment, the athletes she has helped — current and former — have rallied to help her.

Ms. Berking is scheduled to undergo six weeks of intense radiation treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. After that, she hopes to return to work while undergoing chemotherapy treatment in Potsdam.

Two days ago, Jordan Ott, assistant softball coach and Ms. Berking’s roommate, started a GoFundMe online fundraiser. At the time of writing, it had already collected over $23,000 in donation, many from current Potsdam athletes or alumni of the program, according to Mr. Bronson.

Starting this weekend, all Bears games will have buckets for collecting donations toward Ms. Berking’s care, and all money raised from chuckApuck competitions at hockey games will be donated to her.

To learn more, or donate to Ms. Berking’s care, visit https://www.gofundme.com/alex-berking.

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New Jersey Athletic Trainer Closes out 47 Year Career

Article reposted from Tap into Chatham
Author:  ED BARMAKIAN

It was a 47-year journey for Al Errico in his career as an athletic trainer, but he finally achieved one of his lifelong goals when he came to the end of the road, serving as a part-time athletic trainer for Chatham High School over the past two years.

“It’s something I always wanted to do from when I graduated from college, to work in Chatham,” Errico said. “It happened at the end of my career, not the beginning. It’s my hometown I’ve always had pride in Chatham.”

The 70-year-old Errico retired this month, with the Chatham High boys soccer game held on Oct. 27 marking his final game.

“I learned that something new and interesting can happen at any time, at any place,” Errico said of his career. “My overall impression has been that the athletes have always been very respectful, the coaches likewise, so it’s been a pleasant time, especially the Chatham coaches and staff. They’ve made me feel a part of the team whenever I’ve been there.”

Errico was part of the team at Chatham High in the 1960’s when football coach Herm Herring made him the manager of the team.

“I was too small to play football when I was in high school, soaking wet I was 130 pounds, compared to what Chatham had at that time, a line that averaged 250 pounds,” Errico said. “I wanted to get involved. Herm Herring accepted me as his manager. We had great teams in those days.”

From Chatham he went to Seton Hall University and received his degree in Physical Education and Health, being mentored in athletic training by Eddie Coppola of Seton Hall and Sam Martucci of Seton Hall Prep. He started out as a graduate assistant at Columbia University, where he was a teacher in the PE department for two years.

“Columbia was one of the best experiences I ever had in dealing with the students,” Errico said.

Along the way, there were stops working as an athletic trainer in Old Bridge, Pennsville, Elizabeth, Union, West Orange and Madison. He also covered games for the Morris County Secondary School Ice Hockey League.

A member of the National Athletic Trainers Association since 1969, Errico got a chance to work in national and international tournaments as an athletic trainer, including the Special Olympics and U.S. Blind Athletes Association.

“I even did a short stint with an AAU junior basketball team that went to Europe for two weeks, playing in Italy, Denmark, France, Sweden, and Greece,” he said.

Now that he has more free time, he will on keep in shape at the gym and continue hobbies such as growing vegetables as a member of the Morris County Park Commission Community Garden. The late Farmer Paul Suszczynski dubbed him “Chemical Al” because of the fertilizers he uses in his garden.

“They don’t call me Chemical Al for nothing,” he said. “My cabbage heads get to be 10 pounds. I’ve also grown tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers and other vegetables.”

Since 2007, he was able to work on a per diem basis for a number of schools until the Chatham Board of Education added a part-time athletic trainer position. Errico had a short commute to Chatham High from his home on Pine Street.

“I want to thank the Chatham Board of Education and the parents of Chatham for allowing me to work with the athletes,” Errico said. “I really appreciated that. I want to especially thank Bill Librera and his assistant, Ginny Leslie, who treated me very professionally and I will consider them friends for the rest of my life.

“I also want to thank Mike Colavita, the athletic trainer at Chatham High for allowing me to work with him. He is one of the best athletic trainers that I know in the county and the state. I’m grateful that the Chatham coaching staff treated me professionally and as a friend.”

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Athletic training staff get injured Alabama players healthy again

Article reposted from Tuscaloosa News
Author:  Ben Jones

Every Alabama football player is required to have his ankles taped or braced for every practice or game. That means every player comes to see Jeff Allen and his staff before every practice and every game.

He’ll tape about 15 players a day before practice and more on game days. That’s about two hours of work every day. Some may consider it one of the more ponderous tasks of his profession. Allen doesn’t.

“It matters,” Allen said. “It’s not just a menial task. It matters.”

The way Allen – Alabama’s associate athletics director for sports medicine – sees it, about a quarter of the injuries he and the medical staff deal with are ankle injuries. That’s why every player is required to be taped, every day.

“If we don’t tape them and don’t do a good job of it, I guarantee you, our injuries are going to shoot up,” he said. “When I’m taping them, I’m like, ‘OK, I’m protecting this guy so that he can stay on the field.’ I’m not just throwing some tape on him. I’m doing it the right way, doing it the way that’s going to work biomechanically and physiologically so that we keep this guy on the field.”

So players begin putting their name on a list to be taped, and the process starts around noon. It goes until meetings at 2 o’clock on a normal practice day.

But there’s also more to it than biomechanics and ankle support. Those two hours every day are the time for Allen and the athletic trainers to build bonds with players.

“The guys that I tape every day, definitely it’s a great way to sit there and talk to them, just like a barber does when you sit there in a chair,” Allen said. “We certainly use that as an opportunity to build those relationships.”

Trust is key in the relationship between players and athletic trainers. The medical staff, by nature, will spend the most time with players who are injured. They’re the ones running on the field when a player stays down after a tackle.

The relationships have to start before then. Most athletes arrive at Alabama with no experience of working with a professional medical staff on a day-to-day basis. Allen and the medical staff have to build that trust before injuries strike. The alternative can be corrosive to a team’s culture.

“The main thing, and I’ve seen it happen where the athletic trainers, the players, and the coaches aren’t on the same page and there’s some controversy or lack of trust,” said Dr. Lyle Cain, an orthopedic surgeon with Andrews Sports Medicine. “What you see typically is unhappy players, number one. Because the players don’t trust the treatment that they’re getting. That’s a disaster. If the players feel like the athletic trainers are too much on the coaches’ side, or the doctors are too much on the coaches’ side or the team side, I think you totally lose trust in the system. They don’t get well as quickly. They don’t follow through on their plans for rehab, and it makes a difficult situation medically to deal with any kind of injury because the player really doesn’t trust what you’re telling them.”

Players may arrive with the idea that the medical staff are the ones who keep them from returning to the field. Allen, along with the team doctors and athletic trainers, are the ones who make that decision. But there’s also far more than that.

Allen and his staff are with players when they receive bad news. They’re the ones who translate medical diagnoses into a language that players and their families can understand. They have to communicate with the coaches and the strength and conditioning staff about what players can and cannot do.

Then they’re with players through their rehab. They communicate with doctors, specialists, families and players to keep them on track. Taping ankles is just the beginning. Allen and his team are known as one of the best in every area.

“I’ve been at Alabama almost 30 years and worked with some excellent athletic trainers, but Jeff’s overall package is just so unbelievable,” said Dr. Jimmy Robinson, Alabama’s team physician.

It starts with those relationships. It’s built over time, on the training table before practice or in the rehab room. Robinson said the medical staff gathers before games to say a prayer that there won’t be any injuries.

“He loves on them, to be honest with you,” Robinson said. “He gives them a hug and puts his arm around them and talks to them.”

The medical team is more than just Allen, and more than just the athletic trainers. Robinson and the team physicians play a big role. Andrews Sports Medicine is one of the premier practices of its type anywhere, and it happens to be just down the road.

But Allen is the one who oversees it all as the head athletic trainer for the football team.

“I’ve told my other doctors that I work with and the other people around that I think there are several people important to the University of Alabama program,” Cain said. “Obviously Coach (Nick) Saban is at the top of the list. But I think Jeff Allen is probably in the top two or three. There is no coach, administrator, doctor or anybody else in the program that’s as important in terms of what happens through the season, what happens in the offseason, what happens with the players from a perception and happiness standpoint as Jeff Allen.”

Allen and the medical staff have been especially vital to Alabama this season. The Crimson Tide watched four of its top linebackers go down to injury in the season opener against Florida State. Outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings had surgery for an ankle injury and played three weeks later against Vanderbilt. Inside linebacker Rashaan Evans made a return from a groin injury in that game, too.

Outside linebackers Christian Miller (biceps) and Terrell Lewis (elbow) were also hurt in the opener and expected to miss the rest of the season. Inside linebacker Mack Wilson (foot) was injured in the LSU game, but missed just one game and played in the Iron Bowl.

“I don’t know that we’ve had more (injuries this season),” Allen said. “We’ve had more to one position. That’s the problem. Usually they’re spread out among the whole team and you can kind of absorb them. When you have that many to one position, that’s really hard to manage.”

Even when Miller and Lewis were declared out for the season, Allen and his team went to work and tried to find new ways to help players return to the field sooner.

“We modify different braces or create braces or make braces that prevent that structure from being reinjured. Like the elbow braces that Christian Miller and Terrell Lewis are wearing,” Robinson said. “Mack has a special orthotic in his shoe that’s custom-made for him that protects that bone from having too much stress on it. Things like that are invaluable.”

If Alabama can win a championship with those linebackers back on the field, it won’t be the first time Allen and the medical staff have helped put the Crimson Tide over the top.

They also had a key role in the 2015 championship. Senior running back Kenyan Drake broke his arm against Mississippi State on Nov. 14 of that year.

Before Drake had even left the field, he and Allen were talking about his timetable to return. Drake declared that night that he’d be back for the SEC championship game – and he was.

“I don’t think there’s any question that between him and Dr. Cain, they’re able to get these athletes back faster but also safer than most programs,” Robinson said.

Cain operated on Drake as soon as possible. Allen had a carbon fiber brace 3D-printed with the help of Alabama’s engineering department for Drake to wear. He had a machine that he wore on his arm while sleeping to help his treatment. He was in the training room to rehab whenever he could be.

Drake caught a pass on Alabama’s first play from scrimmage in the SEC title game. He swung to the left side, moving the ball into his healthy arm. He used his right arm – broken less than a month before – to stiff-arm a defender. He didn’t even realize it until he was back on the sideline and Allen asked him how it felt.

“They did all they could to help me get back, working with the engineering program, getting a carbon fiber copy of my arm and putting the whole cast around it,” Drake said. “It was a real team effort and I appreciate everything they did for me.”

The real dividend came a month later in Phoenix. Drake returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown against Clemson in the fourth quarter of the national championship game.

“It would have been really easy with Kenyan to put him in a cast and say, ‘Hey, good luck to you. You’ll get better in 8-10 weeks and you can start trying to come back.’ That cast probably would have cost $15,” Allen said. “Dr. Cain took him the next day and did a very aggressive procedure, put a plate over the fractured forearm, we put him on a bone stimulator, started doing aggressive rehab. Stuff that’s incredibly expensive, but I think the return on the investment was pretty good.

“If we don’t have him in that national championship game, I don’t know if we win it. I really don’t. I don’t know if we win the game.”

Allen has a mural in his office of Drake diving across the goal line on that play. He’s holding the ball in his right arm: the arm that was broken.

That comeback was made possible not just by the aggressive treatment, dedicated rehab and top-of-the-line medical care. It also happened thanks to the relationship Drake had with the athletic training staff.

He’d dealt with a major injury the year before when he broke an ankle and was out for the season. Allen and the medical team helped him come back from that. He knew he could trust them.

“Obviously, when you’re hurt, it’s a way deeper relationship than just getting your ankles taped,” Drake said. “It wasn’t strange when I had to go through the rehab because you’re already familiar.”

As much as anything else, that’s what sets Alabama’s medical staff apart.

“I think in a lot of places, he would not have been on the field,” Cain said. “But I think he was (able to return) primarily because of his confidence in the athletic training staff and the rehab and the process that he had already experienced. His mentality was totally different than it would be at most places.”

After the game, there was a moment when Drake, Allen and Cain embraced. Allen said it was the “most special moment” he’s experienced in college athletics. The relationship remains, even after Drake’s college career ended that night.

“When I go to campus, one of the first stops I make is the training room,” Drake said.

He’s not the only one. Washington Redskins defensive end Jonathan Allen stopped by earlier this season after an injury likely ended his rookie year. The offseason sees “a flood” of former players coming in and out: Eddie Lacy, Eddie Jackson, AJ McCarron, Dre Kirkpatrick, Dont’a Hightower and C.J. Mosley were just a few who came through.

Cain said that many former Alabama players who have gone on to the NFL will call Allen for advice when they’re injured. They trust that he’ll have their best interest in mind.

“They want to keep players on the field,” Drake said. “That’s what they do. That’s what they do best. I don’t think anybody else in college football or anybody in the world does a better job than Alabama.”

Jeff Allen’s concern for players is also on display with the sideline medical tent the Crimson Tide has used since the 2015 season. Allen developed the tent with a pair of Alabama engineering students, and the concept spread around the country. The tent sells for $5,000.

The tent gives the athletic trainers and doctors a modicum of privacy on the sideline to examine players. If there’s bad news, the players can hear about it without the world knowing.

“We’ve had games with a camera right over top of us,” Allen said. “It’s crazy. It’s very hard to get a good evaluation. It’s obviously very taxing on the kid. We did it with the idea of privacy in mind and knowing it would help from a privacy standpoint. What I didn’t really fully appreciate until now, is how much more relaxed we all are in there. Thus, the evaluation is better. I feel like we’re getting a much better medical evaluation simply because we take away all the distractions that are so prominent on a sideline.”

It was a simple fix to a problem that had existed for years for men and women in Allen’s position. He just happened to be the first one to think of it.

That’s what Allen has always been after: an innovative solution. It puts the players first. It improves medical care.

Earlier this year, Allen was walking into Alabama’s practice when someone asked how sales of his new invention were doing.

“Still taping ankles,” he said, smiling.

Then he walked into practice.

Reach Ben Jones at ben@tidesports.com or 205-722-0196.

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Athletic trainer hailed as hero for saving North Las Vegas student’s life

Article reposted from Las Vegas Review-Journal
Author: Art Marroquin

Chely Arias is already considered a hero just two months into her first job as a high school athletic trainer.

The North Las Vegas Fire Department credited Arias with saving a 17-year-old high school senior who collapsed Oct. 24 while warming up for a flag-football practice at Cheyenne High School.

“Her life was literally in my hands, and that’s a unique feeling to have,” Arias said shortly after a brief recognition ceremony held Wednesday in the school library. “Once you experience something like that, it changes your life.”

Arias couldn’t find a pulse when she aided Kennedi Jones just after 1:30 p.m. that day. The teen had stopped breathing and was unresponsive, prompting Arias to start CPR.

A flag football coach called 911 while a student retrieved one of the school’s three portable defibrillators from the gym.

Arias placed the automated external defibrillator pads on Jones’ chest, hoping an electrical shock would revive her. After three attempts, Jones finally had a pulse.

“It was devastating to walk up and see what was taking place at the time,” said Kimberly Jones, who arrived to watch Arias work on her daughter before paramedics arrived.

“As a mom, you never want to come to a scene and see things happen at that magnitude,” Kimberly Jones said. “She didn’t stop, she stayed focused and she was well-trained for this occasion.”

Jones was taken to University Medical Center, where she spent nearly two weeks in recovery. Like most teens, she just wanted to eat, walk around and go home. The teen said she didn’t have any previous medical problems and was enjoying her second year as a middle linebacker for the school’s intramural flag football team.

“I’m thankful because I could’ve died,” Jones quietly said. “She knew what she was doing. She saved my life.”

While presenting Arias with an accommodation plaque, North Las Vegas Fire Chief Joseph Calhoun said the athletic trainer’s effort demonstrated the need for more people to learn CPR and how to operate AED devices.

“Your actions and your quick thinking did an incredible thing,” Calhoun said. “It saved a young woman’s life for her to be able to grow up and become an adult and live a normal and happy life.”

Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Follow @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.

 

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Huskies to wear sport safety helmet stickers during Apple Cup

Article reposted from The Seattle Times
Author:  

Nationwide, 37 percent of high schools in the United States have at least one full-time athletic trainer to monitor sports programs, according to a 2015 study by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association.

“If you think about that, that’s really low,” said Rob Scheidegger, the University of Washington head football trainer.

During Saturday’s Apple Cup, the Huskies will wear stickers on the back of their gold helmets to raise awareness for safety in youth and high-school football — and athletic trainers’ roles in promoting and maintaining safe standards. It’s part of the Washington State Athletic Trainers’ Association’s safety in football campaign.

“We’re hoping parents of kids who are participating in those programs see those stickers and ask what it’s all about,” Scheidegger said. “We talk so much about how dangerous football is, but there so much good from football too. The safety (questions have) sort of put our sport at risk a little bit. There’s a lot of people who look at football and aren’t going to let their kid play. But, really, football is as safe as it’s ever been … and athletic trainers are a key part of that.

“So we want people asking questions about the sports programs they’re letting their kids participate in: Do we have an athletic trainer? And if we don’t, why not? Do we have an emergency-action plan? And if we don’t, why not? That’s what we’re hoping for, to raise awareness about those things.”

The UW employs four certified athletic trainers just for the football team. There are 11 other trainers for the Huskies’ other sports teams, a fairly standard number for major-college athletic departments.

“Our student-athletes here are super lucky,” Scheidegger said. “We have such a great administration. Jen Cohen and her staff put such an emphasis on student-athlete health and safety and put a big invested heavily as far as equipment.”

It’s a different story at youth levels.

Washington state, Scheidegger said, is “pretty progress” when it comes to having athletic trainers in high schools, but many of those trainers are employed part-time — meaning some are only in attendance at football or basketball games. In reality, he said, 60 to 70 percent of injuries occur during practices, and there aren’t always trainers there to assist.

“Yeah, it’s great to have someone there in your program who can create an emergency-action plan, who can educate student-athletes and talk to coaches,” he said. “But, really, the gold standard should be having full-time athletic trainers.”

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California’s crisis with athletic trainers: High school athletes are at risk

Article reposted from The Orange County Register
Author: 

Javier Venegas, a 21-year-old distance runner for Golden West College, suddenly collapsed on the track one afternoon in late January.

He wasn’t breathing. He didn’t have a pulse.

Fortunately, Pat Frohn, a certified athletic trainer for Golden West, plus a Long Beach State athletic-training student, Tori Mulitauaopele, were in the Athletic Training Room and were called out to the track. They began CPR. It took two shocks from the automated external defibrillator (AED) to return Javier’s heartbeat.

From left, Pat Frohnn and Tori Mulitauaopele recount how they used CPR to save a life on the track at Golden West College in Huntington Beach. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
From left, Pat Frohnn and Tori Mulitauaopele recount how they used CPR to save a life on the track at Golden West College in Huntington Beach. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

The EMTs arrived and Venegas was rushed to the emergency room, where he was put into a medically induced coma. He is now recovered from what was determined to be a heart arrhythmia.

“If I wasn’t here, if there was no athletic trainer on staff, if this was any high school in the area?” Frohn said, “Javier would be dead.”

California has more than 800,000 high-schoolers playing sports, yet the state does not require schools to have athletic trainers at practices or games—and very few do. Just 25 percent of public high schools employ a full-time athletic trainer, according to CIF data from 2016-17 (athletic directors from 1,406 schools self-reported—an 88.6 percent rate).

Even more troubling? California is the only state that does not regulate the profession of athletic training. That means that anyone can call themselves an athletic trainer, regardless of whether they are certified; regardless of whether they possess the educational qualifications, clinical experience or medical knowledge to practice.

This puts student-athletes at enormous risk. Among those working as athletic trainers in California high schools, 16.2 percent are not certified, according to CIF data.

“It’s a level of fraud,” said Brian Gallagher, director of sports medicine/certified athletic trainer at Harvard Westlake.

The CATA has been working on this issue for more than three decades. California Assemblymember Matt Dababneh (D-Woodland Hills) has introduced Assembly Bill 1510, which would provide for the licensure and regulation of athletic trainers and establish the Athletic Trainer Licensing Committee within the California Board of Occupational Therapy. It would bar a person from practicing as an athletic trainer or using the title unless the person is licensed by the committee.

The bill is scheduled to be heard next at the California State Assembly and Senate at the beginning of 2018.

We’ve reached a tipping point. Or something worse: “It’s a crisis,” said Trenton Cornelius, coordinator for L.A. Unified School District’s Interscholastic Athletics Department.

***

Michael Boafo, a Redlands High football player, suffered a hit in a 2015 game against A.B. Miller High in Fontana.

Heather Harvey, a certified athletic trainer for Miller at the game, said Redlands’ athletic trainer called her over to help him with calling EMS for Boafo. She sprinted over and felt stunned, alleging that neither the athletic trainer nor other staff were monitoring Boafo’s vitals or checking his pulse as he laid face up on the sideline, unconscious.

“Is he breathing?” Harvey asked. She said she was assured that Boafo was “fine” and was simply experiencing “flu-like symptoms.”

Harvey took over care by assessing his vitals and level of consciousness while activating EMS. It seemed apparent to her and her team physician that this was more than Boafo simply being sick. While on the sidelines, Harvey said it was mentioned that Boafo had suffered a concussion earlier that season. Harvey was able to effectively monitor Boafo until paramedics arrived.

Later that night, Boafo ultimately underwent a five-hour brain surgery to address a bleed in his brain (the surgery was successful and he was able to make a full recovery). Harvey said Redlands’ athletic trainer did not know proper protocol.

The athletic trainer, still at Redlands, is not certified, according to the online registry of Board of Certification Certified Athletic Trainers.

“That was mismanaged,” Harvey said. “I hate seeing it and unfortunately, I see things like that on a regular basis at this point. Not necessarily the catastrophic injuries, but just knowing the people on the sideline might not be appropriate medical personnel.”

How many parents assume the athletic trainers in charge of their child’s safety are qualified to oversee his or her care?

Some athletic directors might not even be aware if their athletic trainer is certified or not, according to Mike Chisar, chair of the CATA Governmental Affairs Committee. “There’s nothing that mandates (certification) as part of the hiring criteria, the minimum qualifications, then (athletic directors) wouldn’t necessarily be looking for that,” Chisar said.

Sometimes well-meaning parents and volunteers assume the role, as do coaches, who are CPR and First Aid certified and must take a sport-specific concussion course and sudden cardiac arrest training. But these are not healthcare providers.

Imagine if Celtics coach Brad Stevens was tasked with tending to Gordon Hayward’s gruesome ankle injury on NBA opening day.

“You can’t cut someone’s hair in our state if you don’t have a professional license and qualifications,” Dababneh said. “We are much more stringent on someone that cuts your hair then someone that can make a decision about your kid’s health in an athletic competition, whether or not he can go back in the game, whether he needs medical treatment.”

Opposition for the bill mainly comes from the California Physical Therapy Association.

Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed bills in 2014 and 2015 that would have required athletic trainers to be certified, reasoning the bills would require athletic trainers to attend college, which would “impose unnecessary burdens on athletic trainers without sufficient evidence that they are really needed.”

***

To understand why athletic trainers are needed, you have to understand who they are and what they do.

Athletic trainers are healthcare providers who focus on the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and illnesses. They are not gym trainers or physical therapists or chiropractors.

“Most of us hold Masters degrees and have spent countless hours in clinical settings honing our craft,” said Kirsten Farrell, certified athletic trainer at Venice High School and 2018 California Teacher of the Year.

The CIF, which supports AB1510, is working to educate principals, superintendents and athletic directors on the importance of having athletic trainers. “We’ve got to make it a priority for our schools,” said Roger Blake, CIF’s Executive Director. “They need to see the human value in this.”

Injuries, concussions, heat stroke, cardiac arrest, can happen at any second and immediate response is critical.

Sierra Canyon faced Buena High in a junior-varsity football game on Aug. 31. Buena did not have an athletic trainer when one of its players went down with a hit. Fortunately Eric Dick, Sierra Canyon’s certified athletic trainer, was on site.

Dick asked the player if he had a headache or felt dizzy or nauseous. The player smiled but wasn’t responding. Dick told the player and his father to not wait, and walked them to their car. Dick asked the player to read the word “SCAN” on the stereo. He couldn’t formulate the words, mumbling and struggling. Eventually he got the words out, but it took far too long. Dick said they should go to the hospital immediately.

“The continual follow up over that time period, was only about five minutes. In those five minutes, he took such a big change in his behavior,” said Dick, who mentioned the importance of having an athletic trainer to make decisions about when it is safe for an athlete to return to play, as those decisions have long-lasting health consequences.

Dick works at a private school — but what about public schools?

LAUSD is a large district of 150 schools and more than 52,000 athletes and comprises the L.A. City Section. Yet only 13 percent of schools of schools that reported in this Section have athletic trainers.

Some are funded by non-profits, such as the West Coast Sports Medicine Foundation or Team Heal Foundation. Alex Merriman, Dorsey High’s certified athletic trainer, is one of them.

She oversees the Dons’ 23 teams on her own, though she has student athletic-training aides to help out. She works 60 hours on what she calls a “good” week and 70-75 hours on a “bad” week (one that involves more injuries and treatment). As devoted as she is, she cannot make every single game, especially with two to three sports going on during one season.

“You have to be really passionate about what you do in this field,” Merriman said. “There are plenty of days where I want to quit and give up and find another job somewhere else, but I remember all the kids that we care for here. What would they be doing if I wasn’t here?”

CIF data indicates that both public and private suffer from a shortage of athletic trainers. However, some of the lower socioeconomic sections (Oakland, L.A. City, Northern) report only 9 to 13 percent of schools having a certified athletic trainer. More affluent sections (San Diego, Southern, San Francisco) report having the largest percentage of schools having an athletic trainer at 60 to 77 percent.

What will it take for students to be protected?

“I don’t want this to become a reactionary story where, God forbid, another student is injured or hurt badly or their health is compromised,” Dababneh said. “Then everybody says: ‘Well why didn’t we do this already?’”

trainers_chart
CIF data from 2016-17 (athletic directors from 1,406 schools self-reported — an 88.6 percent rate)
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Ohio Athletic Trainer Works Tirelessly During Games

Article reposted from The Blade
Author: 

Before an early October meeting between two winless high school football teams, Bowsher athletic trainer Meghan Gregoire wraps tape around wrists and ankles.

Before its game against Rogers, the Bowsher bench buzzed with anything from political debates to pop culture references. The Rebels also watched their opponents warm up, speculating about who would take over at quarterback for the Rams.

“I don’t care who it is,” one defensive lineman said. “I’m going to add him to my highlight reel.”

In the middle of the trash talk and miscellaneous conversation was Gregoire, now a student at the University of Toledo. She’s been with the Rebels’ athletic program since August and will stay until the end of next year, when she graduates with a master’s degree in exercise science.

Two minutes before kickoff, she anxiously stretched and paced. She gets nervous right before every game, after all the players are wrapped, stretched, and she’s met with the opposing team’s athletic trainer.

“No amount of training can prepare you for everything,” Gregoire said. “You can never be ready for every possibility.”

That’s not to say Gregoire doesn’t enjoy her job.

Gregoire trades barbs with the players, who she refers to as her “little brothers.” But there certainly are some responsibilities she finds less than ideal, such as stalking the sideline looking for players who are hurt but avoiding eye contact so that Gregoire doesn’t pull them from the game.

“It’s definitely important [to bond] because some of these kids, I wouldn’t know they were hurt unless I knew who they were,” Gregoire said. “A lot of times, they won’t come to you and tell you they’re hurt. It’s the way they act or the way they don’t act.

“You really just become part of the team. I honestly could tell you that they couldn’t get through a day without me.”

There’s also dealing with a player after an injury threatens his season. Gregoire understands the sensitivity to this process firsthand, as the former softball standout suffered a career-ending knee injury in high school. A doctor talked her through the grieving process, and he still remains her inspiration for her career choice.

Walter Windless, a junior defensive lineman who was sidelined all season by a torn meniscus, followed Gregoire along the sideline as she surveyed the field for injured players. They shared a brutal conversation in August about being unable to play this year, but she helped him through the grieving process.

“I kind of shut down because I just started to play more,” Windless said. “I thought I let down my team. She lifted me up as a player. I can’t wait to have her back next year, hopefully to some better results.”