This is National Athletic Trainers Month, and we certainly have a lot of athletic trainers here locally who do a tremendous job – from public and private schools all the way to area universities.
South Texas Bone and Joint along with the Corpus Christi Medical Center recently hosted an event to honor our local athletic trainers. There are about 35 high school trainers in South Texas.
And they all work tireless hours because, let’s admit it, athletics rarely takes time off.
These trainers have great relationships with area doctors, surgeons and physical therapists.
The role of an athletic trainer has really changed over the years.
We caught up with Corpus Christi Independent School District head athletic trainer David Sanchez for his thoughts.
“I started back in 1986, teaching four classes in a school of 3,000 kids,” Sanchez said. “Things have evolved tremendously in reference to those situations.”
There have been some specific changes in the job, Sanchez said.
“ We are out of the classroom, the salaries are somewhat up there,” Sanchez said. “We definitely need to let the people know there’s a difference between an athletic trainer, licensed athletic trainer, certified athletic trainer, versus a regular trainer because that is very important.
“The school districts have gone out and hired licensed individuals to take of these kids and we are professionals in the medical field and we do a good job for the community.”
Scott Easley, a CCISD team doctor, said that trainers deserve to be recognized for the jobs they do.
“It’s very important to get together with the athletic trainers to show some appreciation for what they do for the community and for our student-athletes around this area,” Easley said. “They play a crucial role of getting them healthy and keeping them healthy.”
