Article reposted from News Channel Nebraska
Author: News Channel Nebraska
As popularity in sports increases nationwide, so has the appreciation for athletic trainers at high school events. But according to Columbus Community Hospital athletic training program director Rob Marshall, that wasn’t always the case.
“When I first came to Columbus 22 years ago, I had to explain what an athletic trainer was and what we did. It has changed quite a bit over 22 years, the school hates to have events where no athletic trainer is present now. In a short period of time I went from explaining why I’m here to, where are you, why aren’t you here,” said Marshall.
Marshall, who has already been named to the Nebraska State Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame, think it’s imperative for people to understand the importance of athletic trainers in the community.
“If you are going to have that many kids competing at those levels, there should be proper medical care there. Not just the universities, not just the NFL, there’s a lot more kids that play high school sports that go on to college. That athletic healthcare should be available for those people as well,” said Marshall.
The Columbus Community Hospital Medical Director of the Sports Medicine Team Dustin Volkmer is very pleased with what is happening here locally in the Columbus area.
“The hospital actually started a concussion clinic a few years ago, specifically for treating and managing concussions. That’s been something that I think has been outstanding for our community, there’s really not many around the state that have that type of clinic,” said Volkmer.
While March is officially athletic trainer appreciation month, with all of the hard work athletic trainers do around the country it’s apparent that they should be appreciated every month of the year.