Putting Student-Athletes First: Collaborative Partnership Places Certified Athletic Trainers in Duval County Public High Schools
When you watch 16-year-old Nazah Reddick compete on her Raines High School track and field team, you may see her sprint by in the 200- or 400-meter dash, clear the pole in the high jump or take off in the air in the long jump. Also a member of the girls’ basketball team, Reddick is an all-around athlete whose versatility and talent is an asset to the Raines Vikings’ athletics program.
But Reddick had a scare two years ago when she did the high jump and fell off the mat, hitting her head on the ground. The resulting concussion earned her a trip to Wolfson Children’s Hospital where she was admitted for observation. Even though there were several coaches present when the accident occurred, no one with medical expertise was there to assist her.
That’s why Reddick and her father, Orain, made sure to be present at a press conference in July at Everbank Field to show their support for the announcement of Project 17, a collaborative effort between the Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation, National Football League (NFL), the City of Jacksonville, Jacksonville University (JU) and the Jacksonville Sports Medicine Program (JSMP), to place full-time certified athletic trainers in 17 Duval County public high schools by 2020. Until now, the schools only had access to part-time community-based athletic trainers who provided on-call services, mostly for football programs, which left other sports – like Reddick’s – without medical supervision.
“We want our kids to participate in sports and do well, but as parents, we worry.” said Orain Reddick. “It certainly helps to know that someone who is qualified to handle an injury and even to prevent one is always going to be present at Nazah’s sporting events.”
National statistics indicate the rate of sports-related injury among youth athletes can exceed 50 percent, and that certified athletic trainers specifically trained in preventing, recognizing and caring for these injuries are generally unavailable to high school student-athletes. Seeing this as a huge deficit in our community that required attention, the Jaguars Foundation, NFL, JU and JSMP came together to provide the funding and training needed to adequately support youth sports injury prevention and care.
“This project is possible because of multiple agencies working together for the common goal of increasing safety in our public school athletic programs,” said Robert Sefcik, ATC, LAT, executive director of the JSMP, which organizes the finances, medical direction and development of the policies, procedures and best practices to be followed by the school athletic trainers and dedicated volunteer team physicians.
The NFL kicked off the creation of the program with a $50,000 grant that was matched by other community support. JU then pledged to develop the academic curriculum for certified athletic trainers, and is in the process of creating a fellowship pathway program that will allow students access to a newly created Masters of Kinesiological Science program with an emphasis in movement sciences, starting in the fall of 2016. The total funding needed for the five-year program will come primarily from public and private funding, and the grants. Once up and running, the school district will take over the program’s costs.
Certified athletic trainers are essential health care professionals who provide a safe playing environment, evaluate injuries, implement rehabilitation programs for the return of activity following injury, and provide expertise in outlining sports programs that focus on safe participation. According to Kevin Kaplan, MD, an orthopedic surgeon with Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute and head team physician for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the risks of injury have increased as student-athletes are getting bigger, faster and stronger. Participation in athletics teaches young athletes valuable life lessons about teamwork, leadership, motivation, commitment and self-confidence. These benefits, he said, should always outweigh the risks.
“Having certified athletic trainers on site can help reduce injuries, and they are trained in properly managing injuries when they do occur. It’s time to move away from the thought that these professional health care providers are a luxury, and embrace them as a necessity,” said Dr. Kaplan. “Professional athletes have certified athletic trainers 100 percent of the time. Student athletes should have that same advantage.”
The first five certified athletic trainers to receive full-time placement beginning this school year are: Chris Green, ATC, at Andrew Jackson; Tatiana Burrough, ATC, at Baldwin; Blake Germann, ATC, at Englewood; Melissa Angel, ATC, at Ribault; and Phillip Fain, ATC, at Raines.
“From the principal to the coaches at Raines High School, everyone is eager to learn about certified athletic trainers and the services I’ve come to provide, and that has been very rewarding,” said Fain. “The Project 17 initiative is phenomenal, and to be one of the first five is an opportunity of a lifetime. I have the chance to establish athletic training in a secondary school, and make Raines safe!”
Placed at Reddick’s school, Fain will be there for her, her teammates and all students participating in sports at Raines – something for which she and her father are grateful.
“I’m really happy about that,” said Reddick. “It makes me feel better knowing that someone’s there looking out for me.”
You can get more information about Project 17 from the JSMP by calling 904.202.4332.
