The life-saving skills of athletic trainers

Behind the growing knowledge of the importance of athletic trainers in sports

Kayla Fogarty SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

“Members of the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals staff were recognized during Thursday night’s NFL Honors show in Phoenix for their heroic acts in helping save the life of second-year safety Damar Hamlin after he collapsed on the field from cardiac arrest during a Week 17 matchup at Highmark Stadium,” Fox Sports said.

After NFL Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field during a Monday night matchup against the Bengals, the athletic trainers rushed onto the field.

If it wasn’t for the Buffalo Bills athletic trainers staff giving Hamlin immediate attention on the field by providing CPR, Hamlin may not have been able to have a full recovery.

However, athletic trainers are not only needed at the professional level. They are also needed at high schools, as well, for a variety of reasons.

Sophomore volleyball player Breonna Williams described why athletic trainers are beneficial to have at her volleyball games.

“I think [athletic trainers] are very beneficial being there for games because if someone gets hurt, they are right there and know what they are doing so while you wait for the ambulance, if it’s serious, they can help make you feel comfortable and safe or even save someone’s life,” Williams said.

Williams continued on by saying that the athletic trainers have an impact on how she performs.

“I do think they have an impact on how I perform because if it wasn’t for them taping my knee or letting me ice when I needed to, I would probably be in a lot of pain towards the end of my games or tournaments,” Williams said.

Many other athletes agreed that their performance benefited from the presence of athletic trainers.

Senior gymnast Lexi Guardiola described how athletic trainers help her perform better.

“I feel safer and more confident knowing if something does happen there’s someone there,” Guardiola said.

Williams also agreed that athletic trainers have given her a sense of comfortability at games.

“I was at Ionia and tore my quad muscle and there was an athletic trainer right there to help me and make me feel comfortable,” Williams said.

Here at Holt High School, there ways to live a better life and prevent injuries,” Miller said. is a program where students have a chance to get hands-on experience in the field of athletic training.

Miller continued on by describing what would happen if athletic trainers weren’t available to high school students.

“If athletic trainers weren’t there, then I feel we would have a lot more student athletes that did not speak up about injuries,” Miller said.

Miller not only has had hands-on experience through this program but has dealt with her own adversities in her sport when it comes to injuries.

“Personally I have dealt with injury and the athletic trainers helped me through my recovery,” Miller said.

A member of the program, senior Sophie Miller, described why she feels athletic trainers are important in high school sports.

“I feel like athletic trainers are important because they have a source of knowledge that informs people on

Overall, athletic trainers are a necessity when it comes to sports for multiple reasons. All athletes benefit from having athletic trainers available to them.

“I think athletic trainers are so important because athletes need an easily accessible place they can go to ask for advice or get help on injuries or pain they are feeling,” Guardiola said.