Tips to Foster Relationships Among Trainers, Coaches, Athletic Directors

The main reason most athletic trainers continue in the profession is because of the people they get to serve alongside. In ideal situations, athletic trainers have respect and admiration for coaches and athletic directors, which make themselves better professionally and personally. When schools are hiring individuals, they should be mindful of how they will contribute to the department’s dynamics. Once schools have hired these individuals, here are some tips to keep them from leaving.

1. Get to know your staff. It is imperative for athletic trainers to get to know their coaches off the field. This can start with having regular athletic department meetings and staff socials. After hearing their perspectives and difficulties shaping athletes into productive adults, everyone wants what is best for kids. In the instance of a difference of opinion, this helps bring everyone closer to a resolution. Don’t forget to include your athletic trainer and invite that individual to talk to the staff as the resident expert in sports medicine. Then, get away from work now and again and have some fun together. Barbecues, going to a college game of a former athlete, and staff holiday parties are all great ways to bring your department closer.

2. Be respectful. Whether it is sharing athletes or facilities, the most successful departments collaborate on what is best for kids. The relationships between head and assistant coaches should vary greatly behind closed doors and out in public. Assistant coaches should be empowered to challenge the head coach and status quo in private but present the most united front in public. The same can be said for athletic directors and athletic trainers. Behind closed doors, the athletic director should freely question policies and procedures and in public wholeheartedly support the decision that keeps athletes safe and minimizes risk to the district.

Athletic events are routinely scheduled by accounting for the preferences of our coaching staff, opposing coaches, referees, and event management staff. In the event anyone is unavailable, the event would have to be rescheduled. Be sure to extend the same courtesy to your athletic trainer, especially when events may occur outside regular work hours.

3. The best communication can solve just about any problem. There are few things worse than reporting for work on a precious Saturday only to realize the game has been rained out. When schedule changes are routinely communicated in a timely manner, it is much easier to accept the infrequent mistake. When you notify your athletes and assistant coaches of changes, add the athletic trainer to that plan, too.

In addition, communicating both depth chart and practice plan information helps the sports medicine staff determine the best order of pre-game and practice treatments. Some athletes might be able to come in after practice or during defensive drills if they only play one way.

4. The most effective relationships are built on trust. If the trainer can’t trust the coach to follow a treatment plan, that plan is likely to lose some flexibility. An example was when our punter broke his collarbone. He was showing good healing on x-ray, was no longer painful, but hadn’t been cleared for full contact yet. The coaches asked if there was any way he could possibly still punt. The risks were discussed with the team physician, and we ended up allowing him to punt as long as he ran out of bounds after the punt. It was funny to watch, but in the end the kid was able to participate, our coaches were thrilled, and no collarbones were harmed in the process.

If that trust had not been established among the trainer, coach and athlete, this situation would have never had been an option. The same is true in reverse. If the coaches didn’t trust me to do everything to get our athletes back on the field as soon and as safely as possible, they might be hesitant to send as many athletes in for care.

Trust takes time to develop because it is built in small moments over time. It’s OK to say you don’t know. It’s certainly better than giving inaccurate information. Plus, there’s a way to deliver uncertainty and still have a plan. “This injury isn’t really fitting any diagnostic pattern, but this is what we’re going to do about it. As we continue to learn more, we will keep you posted.” As difficult as it is to admit you don’t know something, it helps give credibility to the moments when you do know.

5. Focus on character development as a department. Establishing a common goal of shaping young people into productive adults and valuing integrity in your staff. This includes not allowing athletes to participate without sports physicals, obtaining physician clearances, following return- to-play protocols, being mindful to practice start/end times, and being clear and honest in evaluations.

6. Have well-defined roles and responsibilities that are communicated, respected and enforced from the topdown. The athletic director should support the trainer’s tasks of diagnosing and treating injuries. The bottom line is stay in your lane, out of everyone else’s way and let everyone do the job they were hired to do.

7. Set reasonable work hours. Working from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. 10 months a year is unreasonable, hinders productivity, and is not sustainable. Departments might consider setting open hours for athletic training services, and teams practicing outside of those hours might contemplate hiring a contracted athletic trainer. Athletic directors should have the autonomy to flex their morning hours and occasionally take an evening event off.

8. Collaboration is not only important but very necessary. Sometimes, coaches have more pieces of information to add to the puzzle. An example is when we had an athlete with an ankle sprain complaining that it hurt to weight bear. Concerned with his limited function, we put him in a boot. After conferring with the coaches, we took another look. Low and behold the athlete’s re-evaluation looked miraculously better and he jogged right to practice – without a boot.

Collaborate with coaches, parents and athletic trainers in the hiring process for new athletic staff members. Widening the perspective of the ideal candidate by involving additional individuals helps select the best person versus the person with only the best offensive scheme. Plus, allowing current staff to be part of picking their new coworker reinforces that their thoughts are important and makes them feel appreciated.

9. People who are appreciated not only routinely exceed expectations, they also stay where they feel appreciated. Think of how you make people feel versus what you can do for them. Treat athletic trainers, athletic directors, athletic secretaries and custodians as extensions of your staff. Include them in team swag orders. Invite them to team dinners and team celebrations.

10. Building positive relationships with kids is an investment in your future mental health. Who doesn’t love it when former athletes come back and visit and invite you to their weddings? It is also a nice head start when you get to know them before they get hurt. If they do sustain an injury, they are already comfortable with you and you know a little about what is important to them.

Lastly, in this competitive employment market where there are more openings than candidates to fill them, it is imperative to hold on to great people. Sit down with current employees to inquire about job satisfaction and review compensation packages together. This communication will help strengthen the bonds within your athletic department by demonstrating respect, collaboration and most of all appreciation. After all, it is the people you work with that make all the difference.