v  Sarah Miller

  The month of March is Athletic Trainer Appreciation Month. When most people think of an athletic trainer they think that this is someone that teaches how to play a sport, but that’s not what it means. Athletic trainers are health professionals that can work in schools, clinics, hospitals, physician offices, community facilities, commercial or government work places, military installation and veteran medical facilities, and professional sport organizations. Their purpose is to prevent, diagnose, and treat sport related injuries.

   To become a certified athletic trainer they must complete a baccalaureate or degree in an accredited athletic education program, complete a minimum of 800 hours of clinical internship under a supervision of a certified athletic trainer, have documentation of a current ECC certification for health care workers, pass the BOC Certification Exam, and must participate in continuing education with documentation of said education on an ongoing basis.

   Athletic trainers in Texas, not only must be certified, but  must also be licensed by the State Advisory Board of Athletic Trainers. A licensed athletic trainer must be well versed in all aspects of preventative medicine, including sport specific conditioning, programs, taping, padding, and proper equipment fitting in team sports.  

   For athletes at Leander High School that get hurt, they have Dawn Allen, Wayne Lauritzen, and their team of student athletic trainers. Allen and  Lauritzen work very hard to keep our athletes in top health in addition to teaching three different sets of student athletic trainers. They arrive very early in the morning for Morning Treatment, were athletes can come in to do their rehabilitation exercises or get checked out if they have new injuries. During the day they teach their classes combination of lessons and hands on work to educate their students at an advance level. After school they stay for the athletic events, make sure to be there if anything were to happen to our athletes.

   Be sure to thank our athletic trainers for all their hard work and keeping athletes safe.

 (Information accredited to medrise.com and National Athletic Trainers’ Association)