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Youth group: Students need better sports safety

Wednesday - 2/6/2013, 8:10pm  ET

Associated Press





"You get into schools with less than 30 kids in the schools, they're not going to have the money," New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association executive director Patrick Corbin said. "They're lucky if they can find a physician in those places."



"In some of these places, good luck affording and finding a physician to do one," he said.

Organizers called their "Secondary School Student Athletes' Bill of Rights" the first comprehensive and national plan aimed at protecting students who participate on their schools' teams. The group is urging each state athletic association to adopt their blueprint.

While state athletic officials agreed with the premise of protecting students, logistical and financial challenges were clearly visible. Every state is on its own to put in place rules for its student athletes and athletic trainers aren't always a priority amid tight school and state budgets; the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a $41,600 median salary for athletic trainers.


"It's not a requirement but most high schools have access to athletic training services," she said, noting the larger schools have athletic trainers on staff and smaller ones have contracts with local hospitals or rehabilitation facilities.


In some cases, coaches step in.

"Coaches pick up the important aspects of athletic training because they know their responsibility is the kids on the floor and the kids on the field," Borgmann said. "You rarely, if ever, find a coach who is in this who is in this to hurt kids."

Texas, the state with the largest number of student athletes, already is following most of the advocates' requirement. Each school district is required to have a concussion-prevention program led by at least one medical professional but does not require schools to have an on-staff athletic trainer.

California, the state with the second largest number of student athletes, comes up short on the advocates' demand for on-site athletic trainers but officials there have considered it amid the state's budget crisis.

That's not enough for advocates.

"You wouldn't put a football team out on the field if you don't have enough money to buy helmets," said Dawn Comstock, an expert on school sports who teaches at the Colorado School of Public Health. "Why are you putting a football team on the field if you don't have enough money to hire a fulltime certified athletic trainer?"




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