It's the first game for the freshman football squad at Fairfax High School in Virginia, and already a player from the opposing team has broken his arm. It's a pretty serious injury, but he's in good hands. That's because the county has two certified athletic trainers at each high school in case an injury occurs. The trainers are prepared to provide comprehensive athletic healthcare for the entire athletic population.
As statistics point to a rise in avoidable deaths among high school athletes, because of heat exhaustion, concussion, even cardiac arrest, more schools are looking at adding athletic trainers to their rosters. The trainers are taught to look for possible problems in young players before the serious symptoms show up. And schools like Fairfax provide special training for their athletic trainers and coaches, so they are ready for anything.
So there's an emergency action plan that coaches have for every facility that they're at, where they practice and as well as where they compete.
Athletic trainers are also the medical experts away from home.
The Fairfax county model costs several million dollars a year - but many school districts across the country are looking at it as a way to protect their young athletes.
As statistics point to a rise in avoidable deaths among high school athletes, because of heat exhaustion, concussion, even cardiac arrest, more schools are looking at adding athletic trainers to their rosters. The trainers are taught to look for possible problems in young players before the serious symptoms show up. And schools like Fairfax provide special training for their athletic trainers and coaches, so they are ready for anything.
So there's an emergency action plan that coaches have for every facility that they're at, where they practice and as well as where they compete.
Athletic trainers are also the medical experts away from home.
The Fairfax county model costs several million dollars a year - but many school districts across the country are looking at it as a way to protect their young athletes.
