Known for taping ankles and icing bruises, athletic trainers have a much more important role in the daily lives of high school athletes.

Athletic trainers manage the prevention, recognition and rehabilitation of injured athletes. They are the first ones on the field or court when an athlete gets hurt, and they administer follow-up care by developing athletic injury prevention and treatment programs.

“The most important role of an athletic trainer is to provide preventive measures for the safety of the athletes,” said David Castillo, Camp Verde High School’s part-time athletic trainer. “We need to be able to recognize the signs and symptoms and work with the kids to get them back playing. If I had it my way, each high school would have an athletic trainer on-staff.”

Sizes of schools and budget cuts that are plaguing schools nationwide are a couple of reasons why some high schools do not have full-time athletic trainers who are able to be there every day and at games.

Both Sedona Red Rock High School and CVHS contract athletic trainers through the Verde Valley Medical Center. Castillo and Andrew Castelein, the part-time athletic trainer for SRRHS, come out to the schools two days a week for a couple of hours. They usually are not on-site for games, but they are available for student athletes when they get injured.

“I feel fortunate for the doctors and physical therapists from Verde Valley Medical Center,” said John Parks, SRRHS athletic director. “They have been volunteering their time since the school opened, and we are grateful for that.” Castelein and Castillo do what they can to make sure student athletes in Sedona and Camp Verde are healthy and help them to become injury-free.

For the full story, please see the Friday, Oct. 12, issue of the Red Rock News.