An Athletic Trainer’s Role in Return to Sports

As athletes return to sports each season, there are lots of moving parts to be considered to ensure the health and safety of all participants. For many schools, an athletic trainer (AT) is involved in nearly every discussion.

Here are some of the ways that athletic trainers support athletes returning to sports:

Implementing Sanitation Protocols

Ordering supplies that keep equipment and gyms, weight rooms, and storage rooms clean is nothing new to athletic trainers. Knowing who to reach out to and who can help has proven invaluable to keep athletes safe.

Prioritizing Health and Safety

As an athletic trainer, it is common to know nearly everyone involved in athletics and this is one opportunity where we are able to showcase some of our general health skills we learned towards earning our certification. Athletic trainers are charged with keeping athletes safe and healthy, so these additional responsibilities are nothing new for many ATs.

Getting Creative

Athletic trainers are uniquely suited to support new ways to transport athletes, keep equipment clean, provide water for athletes, and encourage safe return to sport. Being creative and flexible is second nature for athletic trainers, and this is one example of where critical thinking skills have proven invaluable as we continue to adapt to new or updated recommendations by local, state and federal public health officials.

Monitoring Athlete Health

It is important to note athletes may still have injuries and illnesses that are unrelated to their sport (colds, flu, skin disorders, allergies, asthma, etc.) Even with the addition of new jobs and roles, athletic trainers are always looking to keep their athletes on the field or court and are continuously working to deal with all health related issues that may arise.

While athletic trainers are definitely not the only people charged with helping athletes return to practice and competition safely, COVID-19 has proven how valuable they can be to the overall sports medicine team in many different healthcare settings. Working as part of the allied health care team has taken on new meaning and required lots of work of our athletic trainers who want nothing more than to see their athletes compete and succeed (whenever they return to the field).

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