Athletic Training Services Needed in Middle Schools

As society’s belief in the importance of youth sports continues to grow, the presence of athletic trainers in middle schools is no longer seen as a luxury. Many high schools have one or more athletic trainers employed for the athletes on that campus, but fewer middle schools have a full-time athletic trainer.

Often, when a middle school does not have an athletic trainer, injured student-athletes must have a parent take them from their campus to the athletic trainer at the high school or go straight to the doctor. The presence of an athletic trainer at the middle school level is becoming an essential aspect to the development and success of an athletic program while also valuing the health and safety of the participants.

The middle school years represent a unique and crucial time of development for young student-athletes, as they experience rapid physical development, considerable emotional growth, and all while having athletic participation. An athletic trainer employed in the middle school setting must take all these factors into consideration when working with their athletes, as their approach to athletic training differs from that of the high school athletic trainer.

The middle school athletic trainer will find success by employing a proactive approach to sports medicine, such as educating athletes and their coaches on how to make positive wellness decisions, communicating complex information in a manner that athletes and their parents as well as their coaches can comprehend and understand, and emphasizing injury prevention. By implementing these practices, the middle school athletic trainer will ensure that each of the developing athletes they serve will receive exceptional care and treatment.

Athletic trainers are allied health-care professionals. This means that they have a wide range of roles and responsibilities that all revolve around the health and wellness of the student-athletes who are in their care. These duties can range from the setup of sideline care during games and practices, to providing opportunities for preseason physical evaluations and developing short- to long-term rehabilitation plans as well as medical referrals.

The middle school athletic trainer will often have the responsibility to serve as an educator. This role is especially crucial within the middle school setting due to an influx in athletic participation, which coincides with an increased number of athletes who have a lower skill level and may be inexperienced with athletic injuries and the treatment process. This increase in participation, coupled with the unfamiliar maturation middle school athletes face, constitutes a modified approach to athletic training, particularly within the realm of patient education.

The athletic trainer’s daily duties at the middle school level include increased emphasis on teaching foundational sports safety principles, such as proper warm-up and cool-down techniques, passing on relevant nutritional information, and focusing on injury prevention strategies. Because middle school is the first time many students will participate in organized team sports, it is also the first time most of them will interact with and receive care from an athletic trainer. It is imperative that this first impression is a positive one, as athletes should feel that they can trust their athletic trainer and the procedures involved within sports medicine.

Building relationships through patient education offers the athletic trainer the ability to become a mentor and trusted adult to athletes and their parents. This can be done by providing emotional support and encouragement to athletes as they navigate the pressures of competition, in addition to offering guidance as they overcome the challenges of sustaining their first athletic injuries.

All athletic trainers should be proficient at examination, assessment and treatment of athletic injuries; however, an often overlooked and crucial component of being an athletic trainer is the implementation of effective communication. This is even more apparent at the middle school level, as many athletes and parents will be unfamiliar with the processes and procedures that take place when interacting with an athletic trainer. Because parents are entrusting the safety of their child to school staff members such as coaches and athletic trainers, it is important to build an open and effective line of communication.

The language that is used when communicating with an athlete or their parents should be simple enough for them to understand, while also being transparent and informative. While middle school athletic trainers need to use the proper technical verbiage when discussing an athlete’s health, they should also help translate that information so that those who may lack experience with sports medicine terminology can understand the message. Furthermore, by providing regular updates on potential injuries, an athlete’s treatment progress, and any preventative measures that can be taken, a middle school athletic trainer can help ease parents’ anxieties and build a foundation of trust that will carry on to the high school athletic program.

The National Athletic Trainers’ Association has noted that the presence of an athletic trainer at a school coincides with decreased injury rates and better outcomes among athletes. While an athletic trainer can help to prevent injuries, those working in middle schools have a unique role in that they can influence the longevity of students’ athletic careers even earlier than an athletic trainer at the high school level. This should be taken into consideration by the middle school athletic trainer as it changes the approach from a more reactive response to an approach that puts added emphasis on preventative measures.

The middle school athletic trainer should ensure that treatment plans for students promote optimal healing and recovery by incorporating targeted rehabilitation of injured areas, in addition to preventative strategies that protect the athletes’ developing bodies, thereby reducing the risk of future injuries. Utilizing these methods will help in keeping athletes safe and healthy to help ensure that their time competing in sports is not limited or cut short from injuries that are potentially avoidable. This increased longevity not only helps the athletes, but also helps strengthen the entire athletic program through increased numbers of healthy athletes that can compete to their fullest potential.

Athletic training at the middle school level is more than just band-aids and ice packs. It is offering specialized healthcare, effective communication practices, and invaluable educational opportunities for the adolescent athlete. The transition from youth sports to middle school athletics is a pivotal time for many young athletes. It is important to recognize the unique needs of these athletes, and school administrators should also recognize the necessity for an athletic trainer who can meet those needs.

Whether it be implementing injury prevention strategies in warm-ups, communicating with parents regularly about their athletes’ injury and treatment progress, or offering an open ear to a young athlete who is struggling with their first athletic injury, the middle school athletic trainer can and will provide unique and specialized care for their athletes. By investing in a full-time middle school athletic trainer, schools can provide a safe and healthy environment for the athletes to thrive, peace of mind for parents, an additional support system for coaches, and reassurance for athletes that any injury will be met with immediate, qualified and compassionate care.