The intent of this letter is to inform you about the field of athletic training, my responsibilities here at St. Ursula Academy, and some of the athletic training protocols. The approved definition of athletic training by the NATA board of directors is as follows: Athletic training is practiced by athletic trainers, health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to optimize activity and participation of patients and clients. Athletic training encompasses the prevention, diagnosis, and intervention of emergency, acute, and chronic medical conditions involving impairment, functional limitations, and disabilities.
To become a certified athletic trainer, one must graduate with a bachelors or masters degree from an accredited professional athletic training education program and pass a comprehensive test administered by the Board of Certification. Once certified, he or she must meet ongoing continuing education requirements in order to remain certified. I want to stress the fact that a certified athletic trainer is NOT the same as a personal trainer. In the recent years, there has been much confusion between the two professions. Under this letter is a link to the comparison.
My primary responsibilities here at SUA are to: prevent injuries through weight training programs, recognize, evaluate, and treat injuries occurring in sports, rehabilitate and recondition the athlete after the injury so the athlete may return to play safely, and finally organization and administration of paperwork, physicals, and anything else that does not fall into the other categories. I am at the school daily at 2:30 PM and stay for the duration of practices. I treat all sports teams equally and will evaluate any athlete. It does not matter what sport in which she participates. If your daughter is injured, I would encourage her to have me evaluate the injury so treatment can begin immediately. If it is determined she needs further evaluation, I can recommend physicians with whom I work closely.
If your daughter sustains an injury that needs further evaluation from a physician, it is our protocol to get a written release from the physician stating injury, restrictions due to the injury, and when she can return to play. If a written release does not accompany your daughter after she sees a physician, she will not be able to participate due to liability concerns. If your daughter sees a physician for a non-athletic reason, she must bring a written note from the physician if her condition restricts play for any reason. For example, if your daughter has bronchitis and must not practice for 3 days, she needs a written release stating she must sit out for 3 days then may return to practice.
If you have any questions regarding the content of this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail or phone. My email is aholley@toledosua.org and my phone number is 419.531.1693 ext 270.
Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to working with you this sports season.
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