The Pros of Athletic Trainers in High School

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The Pros of Athletic Trainers in High School “In the United States alone, there are over 7.6 million students participating in organized secondary school athletics,” (Courson, 1). Today there are countless athletes that participate in a sport at the high school level. The more athletes there are the more opportunities there are for injuries. When an injury occurs the athlete should have the best immediate response possible. Not every person is equipped with the knowledge to help an injured athlete; therefore teams and schools should have an educated person that can help. All high schools should be required to have a certified athletic trainer, AT. Athletic trainers can recognize and properly respond to emergency situations. The instant care that an athletic trainer provides can determine and reduce the short and long term affects for the athlete (Satlof,1). Trainers are skilled professionals that know and understand what is best for the athlete in any situation. Their quick, immediate response and aid to an injured athlete saves lives. Athletic trainers without difficulty can determine the difference between critical and not critical situations (Mihoces,4). A trainer is always confident and knows what is best in every situation. They will always take the precautionary side but they would not do anything that was not necessary. Studies showed that an AT was on scene at least seventy percent of the time while the team physician was seven percent (De Lench,1). This shows that athletic trainers are aware that they have a huge role on the field in high school sport events. Doctors have other jobs than just being a team physician and are frequently busy or are preoccupied by other priorities. Every single athletic trainer will make his or her best judgment for his or her athlete. Preventing severe athletic injuries is another thing athletic trainers do. Athletic
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