Thanks to regular follower Mike Hopper for finding this gem from The Portland Press Herald in Portland, Maine. Dr. James Glazer wrote an editorial about how all of Maine’s schools should have an athletic trainer, by simply writing Santa about his wishes.
All I want for Christmas this year is an athletic trainer for each of Maine’s high schools. I know it is a lot to ask, but I’ll explain why it is so important.
Put simply, for the thousands of Maine teenagers who play high school sports, an athletic trainer is the most essential piece of safety equipment. They’re more important than shin guards for soccer athletes, than mouth guards for hockey players, and even more important than helmets for football players.
Dr. Glazer promotes athletic trainers at all times and has an interesting perspective as to what we do on a daily basis;
Athletic trainers are some of the most hard-working people in our schools. They open up the training room hours before the athletes hit the field, and they stay long after the teams’ equipment has been put away. Most athletic trainers wouldn’t know what to do with themselves if they only had one thing going on at a time. Most can easily perform an entire evaluation with one athlete while taping three others, and at the same time keep tabs on the four basketball players rooting around in their desk for a snack.
I’ve never been around a training room that wasn’t a bustling hub of activity. Plenty of athletes come for treatment, but just as many are there to hang out. Athletic trainers, in addition to being great clinicians, usually chose their career because they genuinely care for the kids.
His direction and call for action is in the state of Maine, it applies to ALL states;
But as your school’s budget is being debated, think about this: When your son or daughter is at an away game, lying on a strange field in pain, frightened about an injury they just sustained, who do you want out there keeping them safe? In that situation, and in a thousand others all over Maine, there’s no substitute for an athletic trainer.
If you see more of these articles send it our way, not only do we bring concussion awareness but we are here to promote the health care professionals, athletic trainers.