To many the month of March is the start of spring, but to those in the sports world it is known as National Athletic Training Month. It's a month were we honor athletic trainers who have made a difference in the field of medicine and we use this time to educate the others on what athletic trainers do and how we provide care. This year, March is looking very different. There's no March madness brackets, no frozen four, no spring baseball, no major league soccer starting, and no spring break. COVID-19 is the talk of the world right now and it is affecting everyone. Athletes are having their seasons cut short, seasons are not happening at all, and even the Olympics are postponed. Seniors are missing out on their last year of athletics and lower classmen are missing out on opportunities to learn form their teammates. Not only is this time hard on athletes but it's also difficult on everyone involved, like Athletic Trainers.
The canceling of athletic seasons has taken a toll on many athletic trainers. Not just in difficulties of learning to provide care electronically but also it's taking away our athlete interactions. We went from providing care to these amazing people and seeing them 6-7 days a week, to not being able to work with them or even see athletes for an extended period of time. During this time I find myself thinking, I wonder how so-and-so is doing. Or I hope so-and-so is able to do the exercises I gave them. We as athletic trainers want athletes on the field/court/pitch just as much as they want to be out there competing. So to not be having athletic seasons and to not be there when an athlete should be returning from a season ending injury is heart breaking.
One thing I don't think athletes know is how much they mean to us. Working in the Division II Collegiate setting we spend days, nights, weekends, and holidays with our teams and we become family. As athletic trainers we devote a significant amount of our time to our teams and we care for them greatly. I have gotten close with so many athletes and their families and I am grateful for each and every one of them!
When someone suffers a season or career ending injury it's truly heart breaking. I remember thinking many times, if only I could trade spots with them, or take their hurt on as my own. I want them to be able to play in one more game, or to score a few more points and then he/she can be done. We are here if you get hurt, but we hope you never need us.
One of the most rewarding parts of my job is being able to help an athlete return from a season ending injury back performing on the field. Watching them play again after months and months of rehab is extremely fulfilling. I have watched and guided athletes through the process of learning how to walk, run, and jump again; and then put them together into sport specific movements. Watching their face light up as they hit these milestones is why I do what I do. The little wins for athletes, are huge wins for us. The struggles you have, become our struggles. When athletes aren't meeting crucial goals to recovery we do everything we can to ensure you meet those goals. We go back to the research, we ask colleagues, and we pull from other areas of medicine. If athletes don't meet those goals then neither do we, and its what challenges us to be better and do more.
If there is anything I can tell athletes during this time, it's that I feel your pain too. I wish each and everyone of you were out on the field or court. I wish I was there on the side-line cheering you on and keeping you healthy. We will get through this and I hope every athlete knows I am here for them if they need anything.
