Hadley Hoskins
Editor-in-Chief
At almost every home sporting event, the Athletic Training program can be found on the sidelines, ready to help injured players.
Led by athletic trainer Sean Wright, students assist in basic first aid, taping and stretching, and are trained in CPR and in using AEDs.
The students prepare for these games in the Athletic Training classes– Introduction to Athletic Training or Advanced Athletic Training, but students in the athletic training club are also eligible to participate.
The introductory class, Introduction to Athletic Training, is focused on lower-body injuries, according to Wright. Then, in the advanced class, students learn about the upper body: “It’s all shoulder injuries, elbow injuries, head injuries, neck injuries. We get a little more into detail in athletic training stuff,” Wright said.
Students attend games as a form of extra credit for the class, senior Alissa Crespi explained.
“You get to be right there, hands on, working with the athletes, learning as you go. It really ties in because what you’re learning about is what you get to see on the field,” Crespi said.
Wright explained his role and the role of the students helping out: “We tape about 40 athletes, we set up water, we make gatorade, we set up emergency equipment, like splints, crutches and the AED. Everybody has a medkit they bring with them so they can do first aid,” Wright said.
The more contact a sport has, the more likely Wright, or his students, are to have to help. High-contact sports like football are more hands on, and Wright said he gets involved “10 to 20 times” per game.
“I love football games. They take the most to prep for, and I think the prep is really really fun.”
Other sports don’t see as much intervention. “Sporting events that are less contact aren’t as bad…You don’t have as many injuries at a volleyball game as you would at a soccer game. I don’t work a lot of swim meets because there’s not as much physical contact,” Wright explained.
Although the class is a larger time commitment outside of school, Crespi said it was well worth it.
“It’s something I really love to do, so it wasn’t like ‘Oh, I have to go to this football game’ or ‘Oh, I have to go to this soccer game.’ I was always just really excited that I had this opportunity. It is a big time commitment, but I like that,” said Crespi.
Students who complete both of those classes can also participate in an internship with Wright or another professional, like a physical therapist or a physician. The internship requires 100 hours of service.
Crespi was one of two students to participate in the internship this year.
“I was pretty much able to do whatever I wanted to do, so I did soap notes– which is just a write up of an injury– and other little projects like that,” explained Crespi.
Crespi said she became interested in the class her freshman year. “I’m really accident prone, so I went to Coach Wright freshman year, and I thought it was really cool. So I took the class, joined the club, and realized it was what I wanted to do,” Crespi said.
Wright said he had had at least 40 students go on to pursue careers and degrees related to athletic training.
“It’s really cool to see high school students passionate about something and go on to become what they wanted to. They go on to become an athletic trainer, a physical therapist, and they come back and see me and it’s really cool to see them loving their career,” Wright said.
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Hadley Hoskins- Editor-in-ChiefThis will be Hadley Hoskins’ second year on Echo staff. |
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