Levys and School Funding - One Athletic Trainer's Opinion

I live and work in a small rural-suburban community.  Everyone here works hard for what we have and we all love our town.  Unfortunately because we're such a small town, funding is not always available for things like sports, band, and the arts.  We do a lot of fundraising for our extracurriculars, but sometimes this isn't enough.  This is why schools and school boards ask for their towns to pass educational tax levys. 

Like many of my fellow Americans, I get a little testy when the government wants to raise taxes and take my money.  School levys are a different beast.  In this day and age, when schools need money, it is to fund programs that are important to enriching our children's lives, like sports, music, and the arts.  Sure, our government leaders don't need any more money in their pockets, but our schools do. 

Kids who love their town like mine do return after they graduate from college and make careers and raise families where they grew up and went to school.  They are what keeps small towns like mine growing strong and thriving for the future.  Sadly, without funding for extracurricular programs like sports, not to mention general funding to pay teachers and offer specialized classes, these kids won't make it out of high school with the necessary advantages they'll need to not only go to college, but to go on and succeed in life. 

Where are we without sufficient funding for education and after school programs?  How much better are we than a developing country?  As Americans, we've long enjoyed being a super-power, partially based on our high class education systems, but this has been dropping at a frightful rate over the last 20-30 years.  What will happen in 15 more years when no child has gotten the experience of learning an instrument in school or taking the field to learn teamwork and responsibility with a sports team?  After we cut music, the arts, and sports, what will we cut next?  English?  Foreign language classes?  Science? 

Between budget cuts and levys not passing, the education system in our country is in sad shape.  Whatever happened to "no child left behind?"  By cutting funding for programs essential to the enrichment of our children's lives, we are leaving every child behind.  If we lose enough money, we may as well plant the golden arches on top of our high schools and teach our youth how to flip burgers and say "Do you want fries with that?" as that will be as far as they're able to go in life.

I have to laugh at voters who stand up and claim to be proud Americans, waving their family values, their patriotism, and the flag in people's faces, yet at the same time executing explosive protests against raising taxes for schools.  Our children are the future of our country, but without a good solid education including what our states deem as "extra" or "optional" programs.  I find it highly unfortunate that people think buying a new car or a big tv is more important than paying a tax that will give our youth the advantages they need in order to stay ahead in life and become the leaders of tomorrow. 

Next time your town is trying to pass a school levy, instead of thinking about what's in your wallet think about what's in your future.  One day, the current high school students will be running the show.  They will be our mayors, our governors, our legislators, our presidents.  By not voting to provide our kids with the proper amount of education that they need, you the voter are hurting not only our children and their futures, but our country, and yourself.  Think hard the next time you're faced with a school levy, and make the correct decision.  Vote yes, always vote yes.

Banned From Use: Why I don't allow headgear under helmets

It is steadily becoming more popular for football players to wear some form of head covering underneath their helmets.  Some claim it keeps them cooler, others admit to doing it just so they "look cool."  It is all well and good for a player to want to look cool on the field, but unfortunately when it comes to wearing things that alter their equipment, it simply isn't safe. Football helmets are fitted specifically to an athlete's head at the beginning of each season.  When helmets are given out, most kids are not already wearing their other head gear, and even a fractional addition like a skull cap or bandana can change the fit of the helmet drastically.

Skull Cap, manufactured by Under Armour

If you're not familiar with the term, a skull cap is a spandex, form-fitting piece of headgear that tightly grips a player's head and is designed to keep sweat out of the eyes, similar to how a headband might work.  If they are used as they are designed, skull caps are quite effective at wicking the sweat away from a player's face - a player who isn't wearing a helmet.  The problem comes when a helmet is added to the mix.  Skull caps are made of a slippery material that only becomes more mobile as it gets wet, or in this case soaked with sweat.  Football helmets are able to remain stationary on an athlete's head because the skin and hair that they rest on provide enough friction against the inner padding to keep the helmet in place if it is fitted and tightened correctly.  A sweat-soaked skull cap sitting under the helmet does not provide enough friction to stop the helmet from slipping, even slightly, in any direction.  A helmet that is sliding around on a player's head does not fit properly and causes an increased risk of concussion and TBI.  

Like skull caps, many athletes wear bandanas under their helmets under the belief of keeping themselves cool and keeping sweat out of the eyes.  Unfortunately, the bandana like the skull cap can cause the helmet to slip about on a player's head.  Additionally, because bandanas must be tied to the head, the knot can often settle underneath the helmet, causing not only discomfort but additional motion on the head, again increasing the risk of concussion or TBI.


Is it ever safe to wear head gear under the helmet?

I do have several very specific exceptions to my "no head gear" rule.  The first being the wearing of a head covering for religious reasons, and the second being if an athlete has excessive amounts of hair.  Athletes with dreadlocks or large poofy hair have a harder time fitting into their football helmets with ease.  If you have an athlete with a large amount of hair that does not want to cut their hair for the season, then I do recommend wearing some type of head gear under the helmet, however the helmet must be fitted while the head gear is on the athlete, in order to ensure proper fit.

In all, a skull cap or bandana underneath the helmet is completely unnecessary, equipment altering, and potentially dangerous.  Unless an athlete must wear head wear for religious reasons or an athlete has excessive amounts of hair that need to be kept out of the way, any head covering underneath the football helmet should be avoided.

How to Beat the Heat - Tips from 2-a-day camp!

We had a local reporter come by practice last night to do a short story on the team this year, and he also had many questions about what we do here at our school to combat the heat and prevent dehydration and heat illness.  After coming in and posting the daily weather, I realized that a blog about what to do to beat the heat wouldn't be a bad idea.

Post the weather daily in a visible, high-traffic area.

Making your athletes and coaches aware of the daily weather conditions is a crucial step in beating the heat.  Coaches may decide to adjust practices based on their personal experiences with weather conditions, and athletes may choose to dress differently based on temperature and humidity.    I post my weather data right over the scales where the teams weigh themselves in before getting dressed for practice - can't miss it there!  If you don't have the time or desire to stand outside with your trusty old sling psychrometer before posting the weather, (honestly, who wants to anymore?) try one of these links.  While websites won't give you exact results unless their equipment happens to be on your field, they're a good tool and speed up the process by quite a bit.

The Weather Channel
National Weather Service

 Have an action plan in effect before the season starts.


Sit down with your coaches before you start two-a-days and plan out what you're going to do if the heat index reaches certain levels.  Where I live, we are always in the "Caution" zone during two-a-days, so we take our normal precautions at that time.  Once we pass out of the caution zone, we've established a yellow, orange, red rating system based on the heat index scale.  Each color has it's own action and practice plan based on heat guidelines, for example in the "yellow" zone, we start practice in helmets only, and move to shells as it gets cooler as we practice in the evening.

Change your practice times.

My school has switched to evening practices for the first time this year, and let me tell you - it's excellent!  While the decision was made mostly based on work schedules and the like, we also took into account the Ohio weather and the steep drop in temperature we have most nights.  Starting practice during one of the warmer parts of the day and practicing as it gets cooler has a huge advantage over practicing while it is getting hot - as your athletes heat up, the air is cooling down, decreasing your chances of having someone overheat!

Take longer breaks or shorten practices.

When the heat goes up, so should your water breaks and time between practices.  As athletes sweat more, they will need more frequent trips to the water jug to prevent dehydration and heat illness.  You can also change two two-hour practices with one break into three one-hour practices with two breaks.  This allows you to more efficiently utilize practice time while keeping athletes safe and out of harm's way by allowing them more time to rest and cool down.

Don't go "full pads" if it's too hot.

As easy as this is, many coaches will complain about having to alter how much equipment their athletes are wearing at each practice because it changes what they're able to do during practice.  The bottom line is that football equipment is heavy, hot, and doesn't breathe well.  If it is above a certain temperature and humidity, it is not safe for athletes to be performing heavy drills in full padding, as they will be unable to cool themselves effectively.  Practice can be changed from full pads to just shells, just helmets, or no equipment at all based on relative humidity, and altered as the day progresses.

Have the athletes bring extra dry clothes.

An athlete running around in sweat-soaked clothing isn't cooling their body effectively.  Sweat cools your body by evaporating off of your skin, however it cannot do this if it is sopped into your clothing.  Having athletes put on fresh socks and shirts between practices can help them cool themselves more effectively when they get back outside.


Wherever you're at, stay cool out there today!  Northeast Ohio is standing at a balmy 93 degrees in the shade and 40% humidity - hot hot!

Concussion-proof Helmets - Is there really such a thing?

The number one question I am asked by football parents is "What helmet should my child be wearing to prevent them from having a concussion?"  The easy and honest answer is this:

No matter what helmet your child or athlete is or is not wearing, they are in danger of a concussion while playing football, or any other sport.

The long-form answer is a little more complicated.  Yes, there are helmets that will protect your child better than others, but no helmet is perfect and every athlete is different.  If you're looking for a helmet that will better protect an athlete with a history of serious traumatic head injury, you may consider re-thinking football altogether.  Athletes who have sustained traumatic brain injury in the past are significantly more likely to re-injure themselves than athletes who have not suffered a concussion in the past.

For parents who won't let me escape without giving them a recommendation, this year I'm recommending a Riddell Revolution 360 or a Riddell Revo Speed.  These make up the majority of what my high school team is currently wearing, though I do have a few students in Schutt DNA's, and a few others in what my students laugh and call "potato helmets" due to their age.  I have been around Riddell helmets for over ten years and I personally find them to be some of the best available on the market.  The athletes are most comfortable in them, they have a desirable design, and above all consistently have the highest scores in helmet concussion studies no matter what the testing venue.

Riddell Revolution Speed

Riddell 360

If your school is like mine and doesn't have the funds to replace all of their older helmets, make sure that you are giving out all of the newer helmets first, and make certain that athletes who are prone to head injury or have a history of head injury are in the higher rated helmets in order to decrease their chances of re-injury.

My other action when asked about what helmets are the safest and best is to point parents and coaches to the Virginia Tech - Wake Forest helmet studies.  While these are not the end-all be-all of informational studies, they are an excellent resource for parents, coaches, and medical staff who are looking to educate themselves on helmet safety.   The brief-form summary of their findings can be seen to the right (click to enlarge.)  My two favored helmets received top ratings for the 2012 study, along with the Rawlings Quantum Plus.  The only ratings I tend to disagree with are those for the Xenith X1 and X2 helmets, as I personally find that they do not offer athletes, especially those who have incurred a previous head injury, enough protection from hard contact forces such as head to head, head to ground, or head to knee contacts.

Whichever helmet you choose for your athlete, remember that proper fit is also vital to decreasing the chances of concussion.  Helmet technology and proper hitting mechanics can only take safety so far, and if a helmet does not fit correctly the chances of injury skyrocket.  Helmets should be snug so as not to move around on the athlete's head, but not so tight as to cause discomfort.  The ear holes in the helmet should line up with the athlete's own ears.  The front lip of the helmet should fall about one inch or two finger-widths above the eyebrow, and the face mask should come out about three finger widths from the end of the athlete's nose.  The chin strap should be snug to prevent movement, but not so tight that it cuts off circulation or causes discomfort.  

Stay safe this season, and remember that no helmet is 100% concussion-proof.  Always make sure that your athletes are in the best helmet for them, and that they wear a mouthguard at every game and practice!

Welcome to Football Season: Hydration

I don't know about the rest of you, but my school started two-a-day football yesterday!  Since it's been ridiculously hot here in northeast Ohio, I thought I would re-start my blogging with some tips on keeping your kids cool on the cheap!

Water Bottles

Always have water bottles available, whether you have kids bring them or you provide them.  Water bottles can be transported easily to various practice sites.  It's a good idea to issue at least one carrier (six bottles) to each team, though if you have the funds for more then hand out a few.  If bottle carrier sets are a little out of your price range, look into getting individual bottles for each athlete.  While this might sound like it is more expensive, the easy solution is to find local businesses to sponsor you.  It takes a little extra work but in the end it often means that you'll end up with neat water bottles for very little if any cost!

Water Horses

I don't recommend actually going out and purchasing one of these, simply because you'll end up paying upwards of $2000 for a system that's made more or less of parts you can assemble from your local hardware store for about $200 or less.  To make one, you'll need a long saw horse, like one you would see at a large construction site or blocking a road, a length of PVC pipe around the same length as the horse, 5-8 pipe nipples, a power drill, a hose bib that will connect with your PVC pipe, and a bag of long zip ties.  I'll post more on how to construct this monster tomorrow, but it's quite easy.  Note that these materials are not all deemed consumption safe, however if you're in a pinch it is better than having no water at all.

Sprinklers

Working with peewee football?  Set up a sprinkler on the practice field and run through it for one of your drills!  It keeps your kids cool and keeps your field looking nice all at the same time.

Ice Towels

Every squeamish water girl's nightmare.  Yes, ice towels are gross and rather unsanitary, but we're going for cheap not pleasant here.  Take a bucket or an old cooler that leaks and is just disgusting and throw about ten towels in the bottom, then fill it halfway with ice and partway with water.  Whatever you do, just please wash the towels every night!  An interesting variation to towels I've seen is using shammy cloths, though this is less cost effective.

Ice Bath

This is a last resort with overheated athletes.  If you find yourself dealing with a chronic overheater however, it's not a bad idea to have your ice bath up and ready to go. 


Keep an eye out for a post on how to build a water horse for your team, and watch me do it too!  (Hopefully!)

Violence in Pro Sports - Is there a trickle down to our youth events?

Violence "scandal" in the NFL?  Sure the Gregg Williams tape looks bad, but how bad is it really?  Most fans have not ever been a spectator inside of a high school or college football locker room or on the sidelines.  We like to watch our sports from the stands or on our tv sets in our plush living rooms, and most of us don't realize quite how brutal the talk can get.  Initially sure, I was shocked, but after thinking on the issue I realized that what Williams was telling his players isn't much different from what players tell each other.

The difficulty comes when we consider the example that this sets for our young athletes.  Sure, football is a sport that is based (generally speaking) on violent actions.  Tackling is a "violent" action, and often can result in injury.  We've come to accept this as a part of the game - which is why most high schools and colleges require athletes and parents to sign waivers acknowledging the fact that there is a very good chance they will be hurt playing the sport. How though do the actions seen in NFL games run down and influence younger players?

In all honestly I'm not sure that there is much of a trickle-down.  Middle school and younger football players play quite a different game from that of high school level and above.  Youth football programs see far less injury, likely because the kids are there for fun alone, and are not under the influence of outside factors like fans, peers, and of course the big one - testosterone!  Once our kids hit high school age, the locker room and sideline transform into a place where the encouragements of violence that Gregg Williams spouted are frankly commonplace.  What may surprise some people is the source - not the coaches but the players themselves. 

Williams' words might be shocking to some, but I have heard the same things on high school and college sidelines and in locker rooms, not from the coaches but whispered, spoken, and shouted by individual players and their peers.  I would be a millionaire if I had a quarter for every time I've overheard a player decide that they're going try and injure an opponent.  Emotions run high in football, as in many other contact sports.  I've seen it in soccer, football, ice hockey, lacrosse, field hockey, even basketball and baseball on occasion. 

Athletes learn these "violent" behaviors at the high school age, and rather than a trickle-down it seems to be a trickle-up.  Players establish an in-game pattern whereupon they reach an emotional high then following a bad play or an error of some sort, decide that they want to take it out on another player.  I would imagine that this behavior is learned based on a combination of observation of peers actions, encouragement of older teammates, and of course the heightened emotions that are brought on naturally in our teens.

When we realized that spear-tackling was dangerous and were seeking to ban it from the game, we started with youth sports.  When we needed to change the equipment rules, we started with youth sports.  If we do want to change the nature of the game and steer athletes away from seeking to remove their opponents from the game then starting at the pro-level will be unproductive.  Sure, we do need to continue to penalize NFL and NHL players for dangerous hits, especially with all of the new concussion knowledge we are equipped with, but if we really want to make the game safer we need to start where the action starts - in our high school sports. 

Coaches and other sideline personnel are aware of what their players are doing and talking about, but when a kid comes off the field and forcefully insists that they're going to injure an opponent, most of the adults on the sidelines turn a blind eye.  We'd all like to win our games, that goes without saying.  Sometimes a deaf ear is turned to the sideline conversations of players because of this.  We can't babysit our kids, and we certainly shouldn't coddle them, but perhaps we as adults should start encouraging our players not to go after their opponents with intent to harm them each time we overhear a threat of violence on our sidelines.  Yes, it's one of those things that takes extra effort, and yes we all probably have just about enough to think about during games without having to remember one more ridiculous thing, but it takes two seconds.  It might be a pain in the butt, but if we have any concern for the future of the game, especially when we factor in our steadily increasing knowledge of head injuries, it is probably something we should all heavily consider doing.

The Great Shin Splint Debate

One of the inevitable things that none of us looks forward to in the spring is the plague of shin splints.  Your athletes are changing surfaces and not a one of them has purchased new shoes.  We've been practicing outside for a week and I'm looking out my office window as I write at four track athletes hanging around my ice bath waiting their turn to ice their shins up.

Over the years, I've encountered a lot of different opinions on what the best way to treat shin splints really is.  We all have our own methods and opinions on it, and tend to settle into a pattern when we find something we think works.  Two years ago I decided that instead of settling on a pattern, I would experiment and see for myself whose way really is the best.  The results of my experiment?  Pretty much everyone's methods work!  Not every treatment will work on every athlete, so it is best to keep your mind open when you encounter some of the sillier ones, because they might surprise you.

• Pre-practice moist heat - I try to avoid this in more acute cases, for obvious reasons.  For an athlete who comes in halfway through the season complaining that he or she has been having a nagging problem with shinsplints all year however, this can be a lifesaver.  The heat will loosen up the anterior tibialis and take pressure off of the insertion where the pain is located.  I find that this is best used in combination with taping or wrapping treatments, and should always be followed up with ice after practice.

• Shin taping - How many of my readers just groaned?  Yes it's an old method, but we're still using it so there has to be something to it.  moving the muscles across the leg with tape takes pressure off of the insertion point where the pain is coming from, relieving the pain.  For some athletes, I've found that this is the only solution.  I can stick arch supports in their shoes until the cows come home, but nothing seems to work for them like a good old tj.  The downside to shin tape is that you may need to get your male athletes to shave their legs.  I've tried this method using underwrap, but it just does not work the same. 

• Neoprene calf sleeves - An interesting spin on several taping methods, calf sleeves work much the same way as a heat treatment does, except their effects last all the way through practice.  Not only do you get the heating effects of a MHP, you also get the compression effects of a tape job.  The downside to neoprene is that it gets extremely sweaty during practices, especially on hot days and needs to be cleaned frequently.  Sleeves run about $10-15 a piece depending on the brand.  If I have them available, I loan out one pair and recommend to the athlete that they purchase a second pair.  This cuts down on the laundry they have to do, and ensures that your athlete will (hopefully) have cleaner gear.

•  Toe tap exercises - I was flabberghasted when I heard about this one, but as a high schooler with terrible shin pain I was ready to try anything.  My athletic trainer recommended that I try an exercise where I just tap my toe on the ground to build up the muscles in my lower legs and relieve some of the pressure on my shins.  Believe it or not, this does actually work for some athletes!  It can be done at any time of the day, so kids will do it while they're doing their homework or sitting in class as something to do.  Keeping the heel on the ground, lift the toes and tap your foot on the ground, that's it.  Use in combination with other treatments.

• Flexiwrap taping  - I know what you're thinking, that stuff is for taping on ice bags, what good is it going to do for shins?  This is another method that it's best to keep an open mind about.  Flexiwrap can be used to take the place of neoprene sleeves if you don't have the funds for them.  It acts the same as the neoprene would, keeping the heat in the muscle while adding a push to keep the pressure off of the muscle insertion.  If you're feeling extra ambitious, you can even put a product like Biofreeze or Cramergesic on the skin before taping for a little extra feeling of heat.  If you're doing this however, make sure to test it on a small area for a practice first - some athletes are more sensitive than others!

•  Arch taping  - This is my current go-to treatment, as it appears my current set of athletes are rather biomechanically unsound in the arch department.  Correcting leg position by adding support to the arches should take the pressure off of the shins and hopefully help prevent other problems further up the leg into the season.  The downside to arch taping is that some people are more sensitive to changes in their feet than others are and athletes might not be willing to try and get used to arch tape if it is uncomfortable.

• Insoles or arch supports - Insoles are expensive, so I tend to wait until I've tried a few other things before recommending their use.  Store bought arch supports will work for some athletes however, so it isn't a bad idea to consider their use if an athlete has feet that can be corrected using a softer insert like the ones found at the drug store.

•  Ice cup massage - If you have a freezer in your training room, you should have a backstock of ice cups waiting to be used.  For shame if you don't.  Slapping an ice bag on the shin doesn't have the same cooling effect as an ice massage does.  You get greater contact time, and the rubbing motion across the muscle and shin area can help to relieve pain too.  

• Ice bath - Seriously, don't put an ice bag on shin splints.  Personally, I love the ice bath.  Sure it takes a little more time out of your day to fill and empty and clean, but the treatment is so much more effective than a simple bag of ice, why not use it?  Don't have a whirlpool or a tub?  Get a party bucket, they're less than ten dollars.

 Good luck this spring everyone, and stay on top of those shin splints!  When left untreated, those shin splints can and will turn into a stress fracture that will end the season.

Gearing up for Spring Sports

For most of us, winter sports are over and done with and we're rapidly flying into spring seasons.  Time for baseball, softball, track, lacrosse, and rugby!  Spring is easily the most hectic season, as it sees most teams spread out, practice schedules at odd times, and games squeezed in whenever it isn't raining. 

Our athlete's safety is still number one on our minds in the spring, so consider a few of these ideas to keep your head on and make sure that everyone stays safe and happy:

• Daily or weekly email updates to coaches - If your school is anything like the four I've been at, your spring sports fields are spread out all over the place.  If I'm having a high injury week, I might go days between seeing some of my coaches for more than two minutes.  Sending out email updates on injured athletes and whatever else you may need to share takes five minutes and is a good way to keep up with your coaches if you haven't had an opportunity to track them down.

• AEDs with far away sports - Before working at my current high school, this was never an option that I considered.  All of your coaches have (or should have) CPR and AED training, but if something should happen at practice and you aren't there at a far away field or facility it is a good idea to have an AED available.  Ours were purchased through a grant, since it is somewhat impractical cost-wise to purchase four or five separate AEDs and accessories.

• Contact/emergency action sheet in all med kits - Not everyone likes to do this because it makes it a lot easier for those pesky teenagers to apprehend your phone contact information, but there are any number of situations where it can be beneficial to keep the number for your cell phone or pager on a small emergency card in each med kid.  Along with this, I tape a small card with a basic emergency plan for the team's venue to the inside top of each kit.  It might seem like extra work now, but the few minutes that it can save in an emergency might save a life; plus it never hurts to be prepared!

• Walkie talkies - They're relatively inexpensive, they're a one time purchase, and they're a super easy way to stay connected with your coaches and teams while you're off at other fields.  You're as far away as the push of a button for all of your coaches, easy!

• Weather reminders - If you're above 8 on the 1-10 boredom scale in the spring then this one is for you.  Write up the day's weather conditions (including of course humidity and heat warnings) and post it outside of your athletic training room.  Add pictures, put comics on them, put out a list of delinquent athletes from winter season that still haven't turned their equipment in, put out a fact of the day, do something!

Have fun this spring, and stay safe everyone!

Should girls be allowed to play football with the boys?

The hot button topic for sports bloggers today is Mo Isom, star goalie for LSU's women's soccer team, as she begins her attempt at trying out for kicker on the football team. Personally I don't think that her trying out should be such a big deal.  Girls have been playing on boys teams for years now, and she is not the first female to try out for a D1 football team. 

Speaking from the experience of a woman who plays in a men's lacrosse league, I can definitely say that Mo (or any girl looking to play with the boys for that matter) will likely face some adversity at first.  It can be difficult to penetrate into the "boys club" that many male teams become, but if Mo is made up of as strong of stuff as she seems to be she should be fine.  Actions speak louder than words, especially where sport is concerned.  If a girl can prove herself on the field then she will generally be accepted by a team with no problems. 

If anything, I believe the greater challenge that faces not only Mo but any girl going out for a boy's football team at any level is acceptance of the public and the media.  While a lot of male athletes are more than ready to accept that some women can in fact compete on their level, the public is less willing.  Listening to discussion on the radio today, the main concern appeared to be that Isom wouldn't be able to take a hit or try for a tackle after kickoff.  I am inclined to disagree.  While she may be of a lighter build than the other guys, aren't most kickers?  As long as she's doing the same things in practice that the other kickers do (which, let's be honest, isn't a lot) she should be fine.

Having been to many a Cleveland Fusion game to watch my best friend play, I can absolutely say that there is no reason girls shouldn't play football.  The women who play in the Women's Football Alliance are tough and strong, and I could easily see most of them playing right alongside the guys. 

This all said, I do not believe that teams should have to give up spots that would have been going to better players if there is pressure to "allow" a female to play on the team.  Title 9 allows girls the option to try out for the football team if they so choose if their school does not have a comparable female sport.  Try out does not necessarily mean make the team.  If someone goes out for a team and is a good enough athlete to merit a position, it shouldn't matter what their gender is.  If they're able to compete at the appropriate level then they should be allowed to compete, period.

I've seen girls play at or better than the boys in wrestling, ice hockey, lacrosse, and yes even football.  Once a girl proves herself on a team, there is no need to be concerned about distractions or problems, she and the rest of the team are there to win games.  In short, yes, I think that not only should girls be allowed to play football with they boys, they should be encouraged.  Don't like it?  Then encourage enough girls to play football that we form all-female teams at the high school and college level.  We need more girls in sports!

You Pulled What Out of Your Athlete's Where Now?

I've been around the athletic training room for ten years now, first as an athlete and student and then as a certified, and I can say with some certainty that I have seen some pretty weird things.  Some of the strangest stuff has been things I've had to extract from athletes.  You'd think by the time they're teenagers they would stop putting erasers up their noses but no, that's not the case.

2003 - "Oh whoops, they're stuck..."

Most kids don't like the nose plugs.  Honestly, who likes shoving a scratchy cotton tampon up their nose?  Not me.  The day after a game where I had plugged a player's nose, he came to the training room to get taped and began to play with the box of nose plugs we had on the table.  Suddenly the bright idea came from his teammates - how many can you fit in your nose?  I turned my back to tape an ankle and then heard the fatal words "Oh whoops, they're stuck..." Four nose plugs up one pretty normal sized nostril.  FOUR.  Fifteen minutes and a hefty scoop of skin lube later my player had the use of his nostril back. 

2004 - "Can you look at my eye?"

When a player says they've been having itching in their eye all day usually my first guess is pink eye, allergies, or a corneal abrasion.  Not even close with this lacrosse player.  Peeling back his eyelid with a cotton swab I noticed the problem immediately but was still pretty foggy on the cause - how on earth did he get a half centimeter long piece of mechanical pencil lead in his eye?  How I didn't immediately come to the answer I got I'll never know - "Oh, we had a lead fight yesterday afternoon."  Clearly I should have thought of that one right from the start.

2005 - "...well they gave me five bucks!"

We adults know it's a bad idea to put things in our noses, they're fragile.  For some of my football players, this lesson hadn't yet been learned by the age of 18.  This particular individual came in to the athletic training room with tears in one eye and blue mucous emerging from his nose.  I pointed at the tissue box and asked no questions.  There's a point where you just don't want to know - but I got to know anyhow of course.  My football player snorted an entire pixie stick.  If you're not familiar with this particular confection, I can tell you that they're on the sour side and completely sugar.  If you've ever been making a ten gallon cooler of Gatorade and gotten the powder dust up your nose then you know how uncomfortable this is.  After flushing him through with saline, I finally had to ask why he did it.  Personally I'm not sure it was worth the five bucks!

2008 - "My foot is killing me, I think I have a blister"

Soccer players are prone to blisters, it's a fact of life, so when one comes in complaining that they think they have a blister that's usually what it is.  Normally I don't lance blisters unless an athlete is in a lot of pain or they're looking like they're going to get infected.  This one looked bad, like a blister had somehow developed under several layers of skin.  So we got out the callus shaver, shaved him down, then went to work with a scalpel.  Without going into detail, it was pretty obvious after the first cut that this was no blister.  A splinter then?  Sort of.  It was buried so deeply that it took three athletic trainers and close to 40 minutes to extract the half centimeter long shard of wood.  After puzzling over it for a minute, the athlete was able to identify it and how it got in there - over a month ago he had popped a blister using a toothpick, part of it must have broken off in his foot.

2009 - "My ear hurts, help!"

Swimmers are usually pretty good about not getting into too much weird trouble (aside from ridiculous injuries stemming from their inability to ambulate properly on dry land) but this one made the wall of fame, mostly because of how ridiculous it was.  A swimmer with ear pain probably has swimmer's ear, so you get your otoscope and take a look, find the swelling, send them to the doctor.  Or it could be a tiny wad of paper shoved way back in their ear.  How did it get in there?  "Oh... it might be a spitball."


2011 - "I just wanted to see what it felt like..."

In my old training room, I had my taping tables pretty far away from my office, so I didn't pay much attention to what was going on in there while I was taping.  A lacrosse player limped out while I was taping one of his teammates, and I noticed a small amount of blood running down his leg.  Naturally (in my best parent voice) I had to ask, what did you do?  Pulling up his shorts, he revealed three staples embedded in his mid thigh.  I held out a pair of forceps silently, and our conversation was about as follows:

Athlete: Can you do it?  It really hurts!
Me: Duh, but you put them in there.
Athlete:  I can't just seriously pull them out, ok?

At this point I rather unceremoniously yank all three staples out and proceed to scrub the area with an alcohol pad, much to the young man's displeasure.

Me: That's what you get for being a dumb ass.
Athlete: It hurts bro!
Me: What did we learn?
Athlete: [short pause] Don't be a dumb ass?
Me: Good boy.

I can't be the only one that this happens to.  Got a story about weird things you've removed from your athletes?  Share it!!!

Happy National Athletic Training Month!

It seems hard to believe that it's March already, but here we are, and this is our month!  I thought I would kick it off by throwing up some ideas on how to celebrate and spread the word about how awesome Athletic Trainers are!!!

1.  Posters or a bulletin board

Sure it's old school, but posters or bulletin board decorations are perfect for any area, be it clinic, classroom, or athletic training room.  They're easy and can be made to fit your audience.  You can put up something more serious in your clinic and then make something more fun in your athletic training room, or whatever you feel like!  The theme for this year is "Athletic Trainers Save Lives" so you may want to consider that as a theme for your board or poster. 

Tips:

• Start with a dark background so that you can use white printouts that are easy to read.  Red or blue for the NATA, or use your school colors!
• Keep it simple, people are more likely to read short fun looking things.
• Highlight areas of interest with bright colors, cutouts, or arrows.
• Use pictures if you have them!  I always put up pictures of me and my student aides at work.
• Have multiple ATCs?  Do a "meet your ATCs" section with pictures and short interviews!

2.  Raffle for ATC themed prizes

One of my favorite things that I do every year is a raffle for various prizes.  This year I'll be giving out three "I <3 my Athletic Trainer" t-shirts, NATA and GLATA post-it notes and pens, and a gym bag with our mascot on it!

Tips:

• Combine this with other things that you've got going on.  One great idea is to make a quiz to go along with your bulletin board or posters - in order to enter the raffle you have to score 100%
• Need extra money for your budget?  You can make your raffle a fundraising event!  Sell tickets  and use your proceeds to get something you need for your athletic training room like new small rehab equipment!

3.  Fact-a-day posts

You've got Facebook or Twitter or Google Plus or some sort of social networking media, use it!  Every day this month, post a fact about Athletic Trainers, who we are, what we do, how we operate, etc.  Need facts?  Check out the NATA website for materials!

4.  Funny pictures - when you're clearly too cool for the rest of this stuff

The internet savvy ATC might find all of the other options boring.  The obvious solution to this particular problem is to use those internet skills to create a mass of amusing ATC related macros and motivational posters.  For example, exhibit A:

 

By the way, I actually am Wonder Woman.  To quote this year's "Not a Trainer" poster, "We're trained in fitness, sports, computer applications - even parenting."  That sounds like a superhero to me!

Regardless of what route you decide to go, remember to have fun with it and if appropriate, really emphasize this year's theme.  Athletic Trainers DO save lives every day.  Whether you're getting people back to work, helping someone establish good nutritional and fitness habits, providing emergency care to an athlete, or just sitting and being an ear for a student, YOU are a life saver.

Being There For Your Students - Is it your job?

A school shooting not far from my high school this morning has prompted me to think about just how lucky I am to have and to have had such wonderful kids.  Sure I've seen my share of moody teenagers, locker room fights, bad grades, and sad faces, but none of those things matter.  I have good kids.

High school is a terrible place.  It's a transition period where kids are growing up into adults and everyone is generally confused about just about everything.  Unfortunately it's something we all have to go through in life, and we learn from our experiences and for the most part are better people for them.  There are times when our teens start to feel alone in all of it, like they have no one to talk to because no one will understand or no one will listen.  That's where we come in as educators.

I'm sad to say I've heard fellow ATC's say that kids coming in and wanting to talk isn't their job.  I believe strongly that it really does take a village to raise a child, and we that work at schools are a part of that village. Athletic Trainers are a really important part of the lives of student athletes.  A lot of us are teachers, but the kids call us by our first names and feel comfortable joking around with us and talking to us.  We're something like a bridge between the student and faculty worlds.

While I know that it gets me weird looks from my students and coworkers alike, I have a "Safe Zone" sticker on the window of my office.  If you aren't familiar with these, originally it was a sign that school workers were hanging in their offices to display that it was a safe space for LGBT students to come and talk and not have to worry about judgment or discrimination.  My sticker extends itself to all students, advertising that my office is a "Safe Zone" where they are welcome to come and feel free to express themselves how they need to, without fear of being judged or discriminated against for anything.  It might seem hokey, but it does work.  Weekly I have conversations with my students ranging from worries about college, fights with mom, school drama, relationships, and even just simple things like excited anticipation for dates or fun school functions. 

Even if you don't get the opportunity to talk to your students informally like this, make yourself available.  Don't shut yourself off from your students.  You don't have to be Facebook friends with them and share every waking detail of your personal life with them, but you should try to be there for them. 

At the end of the day, being an advocate and an ear for your students might not be in writing in your job description, but it became part of your job when you signed up to work at a school.  Don't think of it as a burden or as extra work - think of it as another opportunity you have to change a life.  The teens we have as students today are our future.  If you spend even just five minutes talking to a student, you might change his or her life for the better.  Sometimes they can drive us nuts, but each and every one of our students is a precious life that we can leave our mark on for the better, and in turn they can change us too.  Be open minded and willing to listen, and I guarantee you'll change things for someone.

Pulling Kids Out - How We Cope

As we near the end of another season, our teams are wearing down.  This is the time where a lot of injuries can occur simply because kids are worn out and tired, and unfortunately sometimes this means season ending injuries.  This is difficult for everyone, be it the athlete, the parents, the coaches, the team, or even you the athletic trainer. 

In a lot of instances, the athletic trainer tends to get the raw deal in this situation.  At the end of the day, you're the one making the call of "yes, you can play in your last game as a senior" or "no, your butt gets to sit right here next to me on this bench."  Unfortunately the call we make as athletic trainers is not always the one that everyone wants to hear.  When we have to make the butt on the bench decision, it often results in hurt feelings, upset kids, angry parents, and cranky coaches. 

It can be difficult to cope with at times, especially when you're sitting in the training room with a kid you've watched grow up for four years who won't even look at you for the words that just came out of your mouth.  If you've reached the end of your leash and are just at ends with yourself, try one of these:

Share with your athlete: Who doesn't have students trying to add them on Facebook or get your number so they can text bomb you at all hours?  I found that creating a Twitter account specifically for my students is not only a good way to quell this burning desire to invade their athletic trainer's personal life, but it is also a good way for kids to get in touch with you when they aren't in school.  A kid with a season ending injury is going to want to talk about it, and having the option to contact you whenever they need to is reassuring both to them and to you as well.

Keep perspective: In the eyes of your teenage athlete, a season ending injury is a life ending injury.  Remember what it was like to be in high school and coming to the end of your season?  Those games were the most important things in your life at the time.  For your athlete with an injury, be it a torn meniscus, a radius fracture, a concussion, or something else, it can feel like you are taking part of their life away, and they will not be shy about sharing that with you.  Keeping things in perspective is a good way for you to cope, even if it doesn't calm your kid down.  You're keeping that torn meniscus from being severe arthritis down the road, and that concussion from becoming permanent brain damage. 

Get the team doctor involved: Sometimes things don't sink in until people hear them from someone who has the initials MD following their name.  A kid with a season-ending injury typically needs to see the doctor anyhow, but the doctor can also be a reinforcer.  If they've already seen the doctor and they're still attempting to negotiate for one minute of play time, it can't hurt to bring the doctor back in for a second discussion on why it is not a good idea to play basketball with a full ACL tear.

If all else fails, talk to someone:  Like in all medical professions, athletic trainers can easily suffer burnout.  The chances of this are way more likely if you've had a year with a lot of big injuries and a lot of really disappointed kids.  It sucks to have to tell a kid who trusts you that they can't play, be it for a few days or for the rest of the season.  Talking to your fellow athletic trainers (within HIPPA regulations of course) can make things a little easier.  If you're still uneasy about something, you can always see a therapist.  While this might seem extreme, I know many ATCs who do this.  There is a lot of stress and drama involved with athletics, especially if you're in a high school.  No one would blame you for having to talk it out with someone!

All Sportsed Out?

Having just spent the last hour and a half in my office eagerly waiting in front of my computer screen for Indians tickets to go on sale, my work schedule in front of me, games carefully picked out on days that I actually have free, I started to think on the number of times I've heard my fellow ATCs tell me they don't watch professional sports.  College athletic trainer friends of mine often say they'd rather watch college sports, where the athletes are (technically) still there to have a good time.  High school athletic trainer friends say that more sports on top of their current work duties would just be too much.

Personally I've never understood this.  I'm in this profession because I love sports.  I can't get enough!  I think the problem comes from us as athletic trainers training ourselves to be tense and on alert during sporting events.  Have you ever tried going to one of your school's games as a spectator?  It's nervewracking, and generally you end up on the field treating some injury or another anyhow.

Even watching games on tv with other ATCs, I've noticed a tendency towards settling into our most comfortable "ready to run" position completely unconsciously.  If an athlete goes down on the screen?  All bets are off.  We're all ready to jump up, and then of course all suddenly feel silly. 

Here's the thing guys - we do what we do because we love sports, otherwise we'd be physical therapists or EMTs.  I find that if I'm not wanting to feel like a silly person while watching them, the best thing to do is find other athletic trainers to watch with.  That when when your favorite team's quarterback is down on the field and they're showing the athletic trainers out there along with a mass amount of instant replay footage, you can assess the mechanism of injury and judge the performance of your occupational fellows alongside other people who get it. 

Sure, we can't relax when we watch sports, but we can still have a good time.

The Importance of Keeping Sports Fun

"Back in the day" we used to hear stories about those parents who would attempt to relive their glory days through their kids.  Looking back at these, we can laugh and shake our heads at how silly that was compared to the difficulties faced by young athletes today. 

Every parent wants their kid to go to college, but with steadily hiking tuition rates who can afford it?  The answer drifting in the minds of most parents is "scholarship," but how realistic is this?  The US Department of Education reports that there are an estimated 6.9 million high school athletes, but those coveted Division I NCAA athletic scholarships can't go to everyone.  The pressure is on. 

Earlier and earlier we are forcing kids to specialize in one sport, so that they can be the next Tiger Woods, the next LeBraun James.  Children as young as elementary school are playing on multiple travel teams that emphasize high level competition.  Playing for your high school team isn't enough for the recruiters any more, you have to play AAU or Futures or JO to get noticed.  And to what end?  Athletic injuries are on the rise, and the population needing surgery or rehab for ACL tears, labral injuries, meniscal tears, ankle sprains, spondy's, and even concussions and post concussive syndrome continues to get younger all the time.  Why does your ten year old need to throw a breaking pitch?  He doesn't, is the simple answer.

Specialization is not the only pressure taking the fun out of athletics these days either.  Often we hear people talk about how crazy soccer moms are, but this is becoming much more than just a soccer-centric problem.  Adults put an enormous amount of pressure on children to succeed in athletics, to the point where it can be emotionally traumatizing.  An overzealous parent will only get worse over time.  We watch TV shows like "Toddlers in Tiaras" and "Dance Moms" and laugh and think to ourselves "That is horrifying, I would never do that to my kid," but when Friday night rolls around and your son steps onto the football field, it isn't the other students screaming bloody murder at the coach when he isn't in the game for what you think is a sufficient amount of time. 

Looking at sports chats, newspaper articles, and local sports blogs, I am beginning to realize that individual parents are not fully the cause of the problem.  As a society, we are beginning to raise the young athlete to untouchable standards.  Talented youngsters can easily become gods in small towns.  This raise in status can really increase the pressure on a young athlete to impossible heights.  An athlete who is stressed can stop doing well in school, stop performing well in sports, and even get injured more easily.

We as adults need to step back and stop ourselves.  It is not fair to think that we can hold a 16 year old to the same standards as we do a quarterback in the NFL or a star MLB pitcher.  While they might be good athletes, they are not mature adults.  Newspaper and magazine articles glorifying or putting down high school athletes, blogs demoralizing whole teams, and even things as simple as parents trash talking kids on message boards are just too much.  We need to get back into the role of adults and function as we are supposed to - in a way that shows our kids we love and support them but in the end don't care if they win or lose, as long as they have a good time.  Sure, she might seem mature, but your varsity basketball player is still a kid and deserves to have all the time she can to be a kid and just have fun.