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.
“We are here for the health and safety of the athletes,” said Mike Boysen, athletic trainer at Mingus Union High School, said. “It’s important that we manage the rehabilitation of injured athletes, manage the physicians’ appointments and make sure we can get them back playing as soon as they are healthy enough.”
Boysen was a student trainer when he was in high school before going through the Athletic Training Program at the University of Northern Colorado. In his 22 years as an athletic trainer, Boysen has been fortunate enough to not have had to deal with a disastrous situation with any of his student athletes.
Such events are rare, but Boysen has seen his share of bad injuries.
“I think the worst injuries I’ve seen were a high school football player who lost a [Division I] scholarship when he tore his [anterior cruciate ligament] and both meniscus — it was a 13-month deal — and a football player who dislocated his hip. That was the most painful one,” Boysen said.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Sept. 26, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
