One Year Ago… The Damar Effect

It’s been one year since America watched as Damar Hamlin suffered a sudden cardiac arrest as a result of commotio cordis on Monday Night Football. Commotio cordis is quite rare, but sudden cardiac arrest is not. But SCA has never received the amount of attention before January 2, 2023 as it has since that time. As Matthew Mangine Jr’s father has said, their organization and other organizations like them would not have been able to garner the amount of attention. But the whole cause and so many things surrounding Sports Safety became a hot topic in 2023. The question for 2024 is where do we go from here? We’ve identified a major problem, but in 2024 we must attack the problem.

On my drive home for Christmas this year, I listened to “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference.” This was definitely not what I was expecting it to be, but a very good book to listen to while I drove for ~10 hours. As I listened to the book, I wondered what the Tipping Point would be in youth sports and were we witnessing it happening right now? Ironically enough, I think we are seeing it and it’s not because of youth sports at all! One of the concepts in the book is the “actions of few” who make a difference. Athletic Trainers have called for improvements in sports safety for a long time and have often fallen on deaf ears. ATs have saved lives for a long time, but none have been as influential as the sports medicine staffs from the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals as they saved Damar Hamlin’s life on the field that night. Or what about the actions of Rachel Leahy who was instrumental in saving the life of an Army hockey player and was featured on ESPN last winter? These “actions of a few” have made a lot more people aware of the needs for sports safety. It’s unfortunate that it took an event on national television to wake a lot of people up, but the “action of the few” concept is fully in play and now it’s time that we capitalize on it.

The Matthew Mangine Jr “One Shot” Foundation definitely did that in 2023, as they announced a few days ago that they had trained 10,000 people in hands-only CPR in 2023! That is an amazing feat! And I look forward to so much more of this type of training, from them and from other groups, in 2024. It’s time that we have an epidemic of sports safety. And it’s started… in 2024 we must push to make it even better! Through the work of organizations like the Matthew Mangine Jr “One Shot” Foundation, the Zach Martin Memorial Foundation, and the Jordan McNair Foundation, the work of #SaferSidelines by Stephanie Kuzydym, and the everyday work of athletic trainers with their feet on the ground—We will improve sports safety for more kids!

Athletic Trainers in Secondary Schools

The Certified Athletic Trainer (AT) is specially trained and educated to handle injuries related to sport and recreation. ATs undergo clinical and didactic tracks in the pursuit of a bachelor’s or master’s degree that allows one to sit for the certification exam through the Board of Certification. For over 60 years, ATs have provided health services to thousands of athlete-patients but over the course of time some of these professionals have chosen to pursue employment outside of what is referred to as the “traditional setting.” While not inherently wrong, the author believes that the student-athletes of thousands of high schools are missing out on a valuable resource. Additionally, this exodus has created a separation amongst the profession that could ultimately destroy the profession. The National Athletic Trainers’ Association is made up of about 35,000 members and it is time that all 35,000 members become united with a goal to provide every athlete with the athletic healthcare he or she so deserves¹.

Be Prepared

Be Prepared– A motto that the Boy Scouts introduced. And a concept that Athletic Trainers practice.

Be Prepared. For what? ANYTHING. Athletic Trainers are prepared for just about anything. We take the time to prepare prior to a game or practice so that you can perform fully. We prepare for emergencies. We prepare for weather.

Inspiration to be an Athletic Trainer

I have a football coach who tells me all the time “I don’t know why anybody would want to be a (athletic) trainer. Y’all are always getting abused and working a ton for little pay!” Sometimes I think about that. Why do we do it? Why do we put up with coaches and parents always harassing us?

15 Reasons to Hire an Athletic Trainer

Sticking with the seemingly regular trend as we roll into 2015, I’m going to give you 15 reasons your school should hire an Athletic Trainer in the New Year…

What Does #AT4ALL Mean?

Simple question, but is there is a simple answer? Occasionally I get asked this question. What does #AT4ALL mean? To so many people, it can mean so many different things. I recently asked this question on Twitter and as of this writing, I only had one reply. And her reply was different than mine. Her reply was on a more global picture than my definition.

High School Cheerleading Injuries and the Functional Movement Screen as an Injury Predictor

Over the course of the last 9 months, I have spent significant time researching two topics: Cheerleading injuries and the Functional Movement Screen (FMS). This has culminated in my Capstone Project with the above title. Today I’m pleased to share with you my project. I would certainly be remiss if I did not thank the cheerleaders at Waterloo High School and their coach Amber Hensiek, my mentors Ashley Rockey and Dr. Carlen Mulholland, and the program director at the University of South Florida Dr. Rebecca Lopez. Without all of their help, this project would not have been possible. Please feel free to leave any comments or questions you may have and I’ll try to answer them to the best of my ability!

 

Injury prevention is a mainstay in the athletic training profession and something that we attempt to achieve on a daily basis. Identifying exactly why and how the injury rates can be improved must be a priority. National injury surveillance programs have been developed that help researchers to track these injury rates if that sport is included in the particular interests of the study.

Cheerleading has long fought to be recognized as a sport, which caused it to be excluded from national sports injury surveillance programs for many years. Additionally, rules and regulations have long lagged behind the sport itself in terms of safety. There are national associations such as the National Cheer Safety Foundation and the National Cheer Association who have attempted to improve the safety of the sport, but much work remains. Cheerleading is no longer the cheerleading mothers and grandmothers grew up with girls on the sideline leading the cheers of victory. Instead, the sport has become a competitive activity with similarities to gymnastics combined with team spirit1. Many cheerleaders were at one time gymnasts and these girls have brought those skills and experiences to the cheerleading competition mat. Competitive cheer and gymnastics share many risks and rewards. One of these risks is the increased opportunity for serious injury. Absent serious injury, cheerleading also causes numerous less severe injuries such as sprains and strains on a regular basis. It has been noted that while cheerleaders do not suffer injuries at the same rate as other athletes, the percentage of catastrophic injury is much higher than other female sports at the high school level1,2.

If you want to read the whole thing, you can download the paper FinalDraftCapstone.