[March 2023] Catlin Gabel needs an athletic trainer
By Elise Kim ‘25
(this article was originally published in last year’s 2023 print copy)
Photograph of an injured athlete. Image courtesy of pxfuel.com
Ben Rosenfeld, Catlin Gabel School (CGS) senior, first injured his knee during the summer of 2021, partially tearing his MCL. That following soccer season, during his junior year, he re-injured his knee on numerous occasions until finally having to sit out the rest of the season.
This initial injury eventually snowballed into four separate injuries, resulting in him tearing his patella tendon and patellofemoral ligament twice.
Rosenfeld states simply, “If I had the support of a trainer at Catlin, I would’ve not needed two major surgeries and four rounds of PT.”
Rosenfeld is among the many youths who constitute to the rise in injuries in youth sports. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, in the U.S, about 30 million children and teens participate in some form of organized sports which result in about 3.5 million injuries each year.
This rise in sports injuries on a national level is a cause for concern for both the Middle School and Upper School students at CGS. According to CGS' main website , “In a typical academic year, 80% of Middle School students and 75% of Upper School students participate in at least one sport.”
Furthermore, CGS continuously represents athletics as an integral part of the CGS experience. On the CGS' website, it states, “we value the lessons taught by athletics participation: teamwork, overcoming adversity, selflessness, and strength of character…We believe by making these our priorities, success will naturally follow.” How can we prioritize these but not prioritize basic safety and wellness in our athletic program?
Over 60% of public high schools in Oregon have an athletic trainer. CGS is a part of INDEX, a consortium of independent schools with similar academic and athletic profiles. In a survey asking about athletic trainers on campus, we found that 100% of these schools had either a part-time or full-time athletic trainer.
Survey results show 100% of INDEX schools have an athletic trainer, image courtesy of INDEX survey Athletic Trainer on Campus Athletic Trainer on Campus
And when looking at private high schools with similar academic and athletic profiles, comparatively, CGS remains an outlier. One of such high schools is Valley Catholic, who joined CGS’s atheltic league at the beginning of this year.
Kristen Brown, Valley Catholic’s athletic trainer, is responsible for the health and safety of all the athletes and students at Valley. She is there everyday after school and at all home sports events.
“I can help with anything from concussions, shoulders, ankles to ‘I don’t really feel good today’, to social issues and all of the above….I can be the bad guy and be like ‘Hey you’re not going back.’ It’s not the coach’s decision anymore.”
While Brown listed the numerous advantages of having an athletic trainer, she also made clear the consequences of not having one. “Take a concussion for example. I deal with that from point of injury all the way through clear to play. Schools that don’t have an athletic trainer often can rush that process or it can become really confusing for the athlete…it may not be always handled in the best way.”
Such is the experience of CGS junior Claire Druker. About six years ago, Druker got a concussion during recess in fifth grade.
She describes going through the recovery process virtually alone, from the point of injury throughout her recovery.
“The first time I had a concussion I was pretty young and didn’t understand what it meant or what I had to do. My parents didn’t know what steps to take in helping me recover. ”
She later went on to explain how CGS was equally unprepared to accommodate for her injury. “No one at school really knew how to help me.When I originally got my concussion during recess, I was just sent back to class because they thought I had a headache.I felt terrible for the rest of the day.”
Druker described her recovery process as rushed and erroneous. “I was doing basically everything you aren’t supposed to do. I watched TV all day…I had the worst headache and just sat in my bed in pain…I sat through an assembly of kids playing drums, recorders, and xylophones in a room with bright lights.”
Not only did Druker’s recovery end up taking longer, but she sustained two more concussions subsequently.
Stories similar to Druker’s show the importance of having an athletic trainer not just to support CGS’ athletes but students and staff as well.
Brown highlighted another clear consequence of not having an athletic trainer. It puts a large stress on the coaches and administration.
Kate Williams, Director of Athletics at CGS, has expressed that CGS needs an athletic trainer and thinks it would be useful to both the athletes and the community. According to Williams, it would be helpful to the athletic program to have a medically trained professional on demand in case of injuries that happen at practice or games.
Williams explained that there is also an inequity issue with the recovery process after injury. The athletic staff can strongly encourage parents to take their children examined by a doctor, yet some families have those resources and others do not.
When asked why CGS does not have an athletic trainer, Aline Garcio Rubio, the Head of Upper School, replied that the subject has come up, but hasn’t been pushed as a need. She explained that there are many school-wide needs and hiring an athletic trainer is currently not on the list of CGS’ priorities.
Another large factor is the administration simply does not have enough funds.
But that will be little too late when Claire and Ben graduate and have already sustained many injuries.
In interviews with other Upper School students on their experiences dealing with injuries, it is clear they weren’t just hurt physically but emotionally as well. “I felt very on my own at athletics,” says Rosenfeld. “My coach didn’t really understand the situation with my injury and was apathetic when I injured it in a game.”
Rosenfeld continued, “It’s been very sad to miss the past five sports seasons because of an injury that could've been treated and prevented by a Catlin trainer.”
It is imperative that CGS, as one of the top private high schools in the state, provides an environment where students feel safe and protected at school, whether in the classroom or on the playing field. And the first step the administration can take is to hire an athletic trainer.