In today’s highly competitive world of sports, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the game and lose sight of the risks involved.
That is, until something happens.
A concussion suffered in a football collision. A torn ACL on the basketball court. Heat exhaustion running sprints under an oppressive summer sun. One severe sports injury can spell the end of a career for promising young athletes.
Answering those calls are athletic trainers. The profession has seen a significant uptick in demand in recent years that isn’t slowing down, as Business Report details in its recent feature.
Over the next 10 years, employment of trainers is expected to grow 23%, which is much faster than the average job, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In Louisiana, the trend is gradually catching on. About 66% of high schools today have athletic trainers, up at least 20% from five years ago, according to the Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association. The Capital Region—and Ascension Parish in particular—has been considered a leader in the way of athlete safety. Ascension high schools hire multiple athletic trainers, and even some at the middle-school level. In Baton Rouge, the the public school system recently partnered with Ochsner Medical Center to provide sports medicine services for its 11 sports-playing high schools.
“With the growth of the profession, if a school does not have an athletic trainer, you have to ask, why not?” says Scott Arceneaux, a trainer at St. Amant High School and a past president of LATA. “People have an inherent responsibility to provide care to our student athletes. They’re our children, people’s most prized possession.”
Meanwhile, the profession has raised its academic standards as well. The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education, or CAATE, recently mandated universities phase-out the bachelor’s degree and transition to a master’s program by 2022. LSU’s athletic training master’s program, approved Aug. 22 by the Board of Regents, is expected to open admissions in 2021 and will likely be the first program in the state.
