Tag: athletic trainers

Chiefs profile athletic trainers in latest episode of ‘The Franchise’

Amidst #Bills S Damar Hamlin’s injury, the #Chiefs profiled members of their athletic training staff in the most recent episode of “The Franchise.”

After Buffalo Bills S Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest in Week 17’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the football world paid closer attention to the team behind the team. Athletic training can be a bit of a thankless job, but this moment magnified its importance in the eyes of fans. It wasn’t just the athletic trainers who helped save Hamlin’s life, but also those across the league who make an impact on a daily basis.

The Kansas City Chiefs are blessed to have an award-winning athletic training staff headed up by VP of Sports Medicine and Performance, Rick Burkholder. During the latest episode of “The Franchise” the Chiefs took some time to profile their athletic training staff and explain their role in keeping players healthy and upright throughout a long and grueling NFL season.

“I’ll argue with anybody that I have the best staff in the National Football League,” Burkholder said. “I’ll start with David Glover, who is my longest-standing employee and the most loyal guy I know. His skill set has grown drastically since I’ve been here because he’s eager to learn and wants to be ‘the guy.’

“The next person on the staff I hired when I got here was Evan Craft. I rely on him for our performance stuff. He’s a very knowledgeable guy when it comes to recovery and performance and stuff like that.

“Then, I hired Tiffany Morton. She’s one of the first female (athletic trainers) to work in the National Football League. I consider her the first lady of athletic training because she’s always on TV on ESPN, NFL Network. The NFL uses her as a figurehead for females in the profession.

“The last person I hired was Julie Frymyer. She probably has more education than probably anybody in the building. I will say this on record, she’s the single-best clinician I have ever been around and that includes 36 years of athletic training, NATA Hall of Famers, pro football people, college athletic trainers — she’s the very best clinician.”

One of the reasons this group has seemingly found so much success is because of the diversity of staff members. They have the ability to match up training staff members with different players based on their wants and needs to best improve their health and recovery efforts. Burkholder even went so far as to use an example.

“That’s the art of sports medicine,” Burkholder said. “And sometimes I get it wrong. So, in 2013 when we got here, (Travis) Kelce gets hurt and we start his rehab and I’m treating him like his brother. And he and I are making zero progress. Then it dawned on me that I wasn’t the right person to rehabilitate Travis Kelce, so I turned him over to David Glover and they sailed.”

To find out more about the Chiefs’ athletic training staff, watch the latest episode of “The Franchise” at the top of the page or on YouTube and head to the 11-minute mark.

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Across country, 34% of public, private high schools do not have access to athletic trainers, study shows

A new study suggests that 34% of U.S. public and private high schools have no access to an athletic trainer.

A study recently showed that more than half of California schools either don’t have an athletic trainer who’s fully qualified or don’t employ one at all.

Another recent study reveals that this issue is not just prevalent in California.

It found that 34% of public and private high schools in the U.S. have no access to an athletic trainer. Also, 47% of schools that have access to athletic trainers only received part-time services.

“School districts, school education boards, state legislators and state athletic associations continue to take a reactive, rather than proactive, approach to addressing safety concerns,” Robert Huggins, the lead author of the study, said in a statement.

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Similar to the study conducted for California, across the United States there is a difference in care between private and public schools. Among private schools, 45% had no access to an athletic trainer. For public schools, that number is at 31%.

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“The safety of student athletes must be the top priority for schools with athletic programs, not just in rhetoric, but in allocation of resources to put the appropriate personnel in place,” NATA President Tory Lindley said in a statement.

The study was conducted by the Korey Stringer Institute. It was published in the Journal of Athletic Training, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s (NATA) scientific publication.

More than 47% of schools in California do not employ an athletic trainer, study shows

According to a study done by NATA, more than half of California schools either do not employ an athletic trainer or have someone in that position who is unqualified.

More than half of California schools either don’t employ an athletic trainer or don’t have a fully qualified person in that role, according to a study.

The study, published this week in the Journal of Athletic Training, which is the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s peer-reviewed scientific publication, found that over 47% of schools in the state do not have an athletic trainer. An additional 7% of schools employed unqualified health personnel for that position.

Among the schools that have an athletic trainer, only 13% reported employing a full-time, year-round position for the job.

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“Currently in California, anyone, even if they have zero medical experience, can call themselves an athletic trainer. This should be a major concern to parents,” NATA President Tory Lindley said in a statement.

There is also a disparity between the types of schools that employ trainers. Schools that employed athletic trainers were more likely to be public (50.6%).

“One wrong decision could leave your child paralyzed forever,” Lindley said in a statement. “That is how serious this is. There is no room in organized sports for this level of risk. Our athletes deserve better.”

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California is the only state that doesn’t regulate athletic training. However, Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) introduced a bill that would require an athletic trainer or person using a certain title or terms to be licensed by the California Board of Athletic Training.

“California doesn’t regulate athletic trainers and as a direct result we’re seeing too many unnecessary injuries, disabilities and even death,” Bonta told Yahoo in September.