SMS students with an interest being a Raider Athletic Trainer can now get involved with the Sports Medicine team as soon at they enter high school, thanks to a middle school pre-requisite course.
Introduction to Sports Medicine, taught by SISD Athletic Trainer Britany South, offers middle schoolers a glimpse into the world of athletic training.
“We wanted to flatten the learning curve,” Head Athletic Trainer Chris Wangler said. “We needed our entering ninth graders coming in ready to roll. Giving them an opportunity to gain experience before they start on August 1 of their freshman year of high school is huge.”
Students enrolled in the course with Coach South will learn about athletic training, the job of the athletic trainer, legal and ethical aspects of athletic training, basic injury types and immediate care of athletic injuries, the injury procesa, basic medical terminology and much more.
“Coach South and I firmly believe that if you give kids the tools to succeed then they will naturally gravitate towards it and invest,” Wangler said. “Getting students interested in sports medicine earlier gets them motivated to learn and grow more with it.”