TEMPLE, Texas — The members of the athletic training staff are often the unsung heroes of any athletic department and the Temple Independent School District’s athletic trainers are certainly no exception. TISD will try to help change that a little in March as the district shines a light on its athletic trainers during National Athletic Training Month.
The Temple ISD athletic training program dates back to 1972 when Temple became one of the first districts in the state to employ its own athletic trainer. TISD now employees four athletic trainers in Windee Skrabanek, Steve Prentiss, Kelly Palmer and Mike Lefner, a group that has combined for 87 years of experience in the field. That staff also oversees a group of 20 athletic training students, and together, the athletic trainers help take care of 1,487 athletes on the high school and middle school level in the district. The athletic trainers are often the first to arrive and the last to leave from practice and game day events. Athletic trainers attend practices and games, help athletes rehabilitate from injuries, keep athletes hydrated at practice and maintain equipment in addition to a myriad of other duties that often go unnoticed by most people outside of the athletic department.
Skrabanek said being an athletic trainer involves many roles in the high school setting. “We don't just tape ankles and hand out water; we aid in injury prevention and recovery, prepare athletes for practices and games, we communicate with coaches and parents regarding athlete injuries, we treat and rehabilitate injured players, determine when it is safe for an athlete to return to play, monitor weather, develop emergency action plans and etc. We love our job and want to make sure we keep the athletes safe and healthy while competing. And we have our Temple athletic training students that are so valuable doing work behind the scenes each day, helping to assist in our everyday activities and games. We are thankful for BSW Roney Bone and Joint and support from our team orthopedics.”
But people within the department definitely notice the hard work all of the athletic trainers put in. In fact, TISD Athletic Director Scott Stewart refers to the trainers as the department’s lug nuts. The trainers are not the flashiest part of an athletic department, but they are an important piece to keep the programs running smoothly and competing.
“I challenge anyone to go out and take the lug nuts off your car and see how far you get,” Stewart said. “Lug nuts are an overlooked, underappreciate component of your vehicle, but you can’t function without them. Athletic trainers effectively touch more athletes in our district than any coach and they do it for all of our programs.”
The athletic training students (ATS) in TISD’s program work 15-20 hours a week and work with two sports a year. Many of those students are interested in careers in sports medicine or other medical fields and Skrabanek has seen many of her former students go on to successful careers based on the lessons learned as ATS. Temple High School is recognized nationally as a Safe Sport School. The Safe Sport School Award recognizes secondary schools around the country that take the crucial steps to keep their athletes free from injuries.
The theme for this year’s National Athletic Trainers Month is “Providing Health Care Everywhere.” The TISD athletic training team will participate in several recognition events during the month and will also compete in the “Trainer Olympics” at Georgetown High School on March 9th. There will be more than 20 schools competing in that event and Temple finished fifth out of 22 schools in the 2020 Trainer Olympics.