Episode 318: JSD Athletic Trainers Focus on Safety First in Sports

Brianna Howard:
The football plays Friday night, so if there's an injury the Friday night prior, we know we have exactly one week to get them ready to go and figure out the most effective way to manage their injury.

Kaiden Brown:
Not only do we help with the athletes with emergency care on the field but we do a lot of behind-the-scenes work with rehabilitation and prevention and helping the athletes reduce and prevent their injuries.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They work hard to safeguard the health and well-being of student athletes, focusing on injury prevention on-site during practices and during games. On this episode of the Supercast, we head to Mountain Ridge High School to meet two amazing certified athletic trainers. Listen in to hear about the difference they make in the lives of students in so many different sports and activities. One of the trainers is actually a Herriman High School graduate who found huge success after high school as a four-time USA tumbling champion and a world champion gold medalist. We're here at Mountain Ridge with our athletic trainers. Please introduce yourselves.

Brianna Howard:
I'm Brianna Howard.

Kaiden Brown:
And I'm Kaiden Brown.

Anthony Godfrey:
For those who are listening who do not know what the role of an athletic trainer is at a high school, would you please explain what you do and also the relationship with the youth?

Brianna Howard:
Yeah, oh gosh, all at once. So, we work with all UHSAA, so Utah High School Activities Association student athletes that range from our band program all the way through drill and then the typical sports that you see in Friday night lights like football and your both girls and boys lacrosse and everything in between from fall, winter, and spring. All those athletes are under our care.

Kaiden Brown:
Yeah, we're basically in charge of the examination, assessment, rehabilitation, first aid, and emergency care of each and every athlete, each and every sport.

Anthony Godfrey:
I suppose there is such demand that you could never put a sign on the wall that says X number of days injury free. You probably have an injury you're dealing with every day.

Brianna Howard:
We definitely have daily injuries. I think it's probably a grand total of zero for those days. I think our best days are the days where we just have like an injury that we can maintain that doesn't have an athlete actually lose practice time or lose game time. Those are the best days of ones that we can make. We can work them through and put them in a successful spot versus having to limit that practice and game time.

Anthony Godfrey:
Managing the injuries as opposed to dealing with injuries that have just barely occurred.

Brianna Howard:
Yeah, exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
And that's not because we don't do everything we can to avoid that. It's just in athletics, students are pushing their bodies as much as they can. They're trying to get the most out of it and trying to achieve, and as a result, injuries happen sometimes. Tell me what made you want to be an athletic trainer.

Brianna Howard:
Yeah, so I definitely stumbled on the profession. I've been working athletic training since 2018. I'm from the Chicagoland area originally and I went to a smaller school in Michigan to complete my undergraduate degree in athletic training from Hope College in Holland, Michigan. Gotta shout out the alma mater.

Anthony Godfrey:
There you go.

Brianna Howard:
And so I started working for the U in 2018 while completing my master's in sports medicine and our relationship with the University of Utah Health is, we have community partnerships where we contract athletic trainers to work full-time at high schools. So I'm here at Mountain Ridge full-time but I'm also paid from the University of Utah hospital system full-time as well. The big pull for the U is just to have that community outreach and to have partnerships within the Salt Lake Valley to help just communities and also help just athletes within, just where we work as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well shout out to the U for providing that high level of support. It means a lot to our athletes and it really connects them to the U so thank you for that. Tell me about what got you into the profession.

Kaiden Brown:
Yeah, so as an athlete myself I kind of got introduced to the field of athletic training from being a gymnast. I've just had a lot of work with athletic trainers through like minor injuries. Luckily no major injuries, knock on wood, but just seeing them help me and also help my teammates and other athletes through my time as a gymnast has really introduced me to the field of athletic training. I got my bachelor's degree at the U and I knew that the U had a master's program for athletic training so kind of wanted to work into that program after I graduated and I did. Not only has the U allowed me to learn everything that I need to for athletic training, but also continue my athletics. I've been able to continue competing while learning and getting my master's degree. I graduated in May and did my intern internship here with Brie earlier this year and basically got the job right out of school and was able to become Brie's part-time athletic trainer.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the difference between athletic trainer and physical therapist and why you were drawn to this specifically.

Kaiden Brown:
For us as athletic trainers, we were able to develop a good report with our athletes and just develop a good relationship. We see our athletes day-to-day whereas physical therapists, they have a good relationship with their athletes but they see them a lot less than we do. I would argue that we kind of know the athletes more than they know themselves sometimes and we were just able to develop that good relationship and know the athlete truly. Not only do we help the athletes with emergency care on the field, but we do a lot of behind-the-scenes work with rehabilitation and prevention and helping the athletes reduce and prevent their injuries. I think that's something that sticks out a lot as athletic trainers from physical therapists.

Brianna Howard:
Yeah, I think we do a really good job of just like managing in-season injuries, of understanding the acuity and the sensitivity of trying to get people ready for game day. For example if we think football, we know that varsity football plays Friday night so if there's an injury the Friday night prior, we know we have exactly one week to get them ready to go and figure out the most effective way to manage their injury. So I think we have a really strong ability to manage that in more of an acute timeline. Then I think physical therapists are really strong and just kind of that long-term rehabilitation. They have a lot of tools in their tool belt to assist with that, so we do a really good job of working with physical therapists in the community to have that continuity of care and getting the bandwidth to kind of assist them day to day; whereas the physical therapists can do some more accessory things just like the one once a week or once a month that they're able to see those athletes.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it really comes down to the relationship that you're able to build because you're working with athletes throughout their season, some athletes throughout the year, and then year to year, so you really get to know the students well.

Kaiden Brown:
Exactly, yeah we get to develop a good relationship with the athletes and I think trusting your health care provider is extremely important. Because we do get to kind of develop that relationship with the athletes, we get that trust from them and I think that is something that they don't get to develop with many other health care providers.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm sure that it's not quite like being a mechanic, but or in IT, but I'll bet you get a lot of requests from friends and family and neighbors as well to help with the bumps and bruises.

Brianna Howard:
Yes, I live out of state and so I do a lot of those video chat calls with family members of, “this hurts” and then trying to figure out that video chat of where to actually put the phone screen so I can see what's going on. It's a real delight after a workday.

Anthony Godfrey:
“I can't hold the phone so it shows that part. That's what hurts when I do.” That yeah, no that that makes sense.  Well, tell us about some of the things that you would recommend to parents and athletes just to think about to be sure that they're taking those preventative measures to avoid injury as much as possible.

Brianna Howard:
Yeah, I think just definitely keeping the doors open for education of understanding what it's like to really be physically active five to six days a week and what your body needs to recover. We definitely encourage athletes to stretch and stretch at home and we also encourage coaches to do proper warm-ups and cool down. With the relationships we have with the coaches, it gives us a lot of bandwidth to assist them in developing kind of proper protocols for their specific sport so their athletes are warming up in the proper way and also cooling down in the proper way. But even educating student athletes and parents of the importance of being sure they're taking care of their bodies at home. So sleeping well, eating well, hydrating well, and understanding just those different principles of overall taking care of their entire body to get them ready for game day. But also just ready to be an athlete and be successful in the classroom too.

Kaiden Brown:
It's very important that these athletes are fueling their bodies and making sure they're getting being hydrated enough for sport and not filling their bodies with junk or . . .

Anthony Godfrey:
What role does Taco Bell play in making sure an athlete is at peak performance?

Kaiden Brown:
Definitely have had some athletes prior to games fuel their bodies with fast food. It would be great after because their calorie deficit but beforehand not so much. But I would be lying if we said we didn't have athletes who did that.

Anthony Godfrey:
So fast food is fine as long as the timing is right. This is my takeaway. Chaloopas are good for me if I eat them at the right time.

Kaiden Brown:
Fine is a strong word.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh fine is a strong word? Okay, all right, well I gave it a shot.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back, Kaden Brown talks about his success in tumbling, where he hopes it will take him in the future, and how his talent is benefiting students today in his role as athletic trainer.

Male voice:
Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org.

Female voice:
Does your child need the flexibility to learn from anywhere, at any time, on a cruise, in another country, or simply at home cozy on the couch? The Jordan Virtual Learning Academy is tailor-made for you and your family. It's personalized, dynamic virtual learning on your schedule. The Jordan Virtual Learning Academy is an integrated system of three schools in Jordan School District: Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School, Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle School, and Kings Peak High School. Our programs are designed to meet or exceed district and state core curriculum standards, ensuring your child receives a superior educational experience tailored to their needs. Join us today at jordanvirtual.org

Anthony Godfrey:
Now I understand that you're still competing as a gymnast even though you're an athletic trainer here as well.

Kaiden Brown:
I am, yeah. I've been competing on the Team USA for years now and because I'm part-time I'm able to train as an athlete but also come here and work as an athletic trainer which works perfect with my schedule.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think you're being modest about your success as a gymnast slash tumbler. I'm certainly not modest about my success as a tumbler. I shout it from the rooftops or I would if I had that success. Tell us about your accomplishments.

Kaiden Brown:
Yeah, so I've been tumbling since I was 10. I kind of, I started training here in Draper just like at a recreational level and then eventually got on a competitive team and kind of just started competing just for my club. A few years later got put on Team USA and I've been competing . . . I've been on the national team every year since. Just three weeks ago, I was in China competing at the World Games which is the highest competition for my event since tumbling isn't in the Olympics. It's the second World Games that I've been to and I've had the pleasure of winning both World Games so it's my...

Anthony Godfrey:
By winning you mean the gold medal.

Kaiden Brown:
Gold medal. Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you for clarifying that. That's fantastic.

Kaiden Brown:
Yeah so basically it's my Olympics and I was able to do really well and take home some hardware. So coming up next I have a World Cup in France in three weeks and then I'm headed off to Spain for the World Championships at the beginning of November.

Anthony Godfrey:
How many continents have you competed on?

Kaiden Brown:
They've been to Asia, been to Europe. I would love to go to Australia. Been to a lot of countries.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's amazing.

Kaiden Brown:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's incredible. Yeah, how cool to have you here and to bring that experience. But tell those who are listening what it's like to take a gold medal through, I don't know TSA at the airport in your carry on. “Oh, that's a gold medal, don't you worry.”

Kaiden Brown:
Yeah, it's incredible and even standing on the podium hearing your national anthem playing, it's like literally and it's like it's  .  . . I'm speechless. Like I still . . . just doesn't feel real and the fact that it was three weeks ago and life just like continues on after that, it's incredible. It's something . . . yeah, I don't know I'm speechless.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well congratulations on your success and good luck in your future competitions it's awesome. We're talking now with our District athletic and activities director, Bryan Veazie. Bryan, tell me about the importance of the athletic trainer position and the relationship between an athletic trainer and a coach.

Bryan Veazie:
Yeah, I think it's very clear to all athletes to all parents and to all coaches that athletic trainers are absolutely essential to the success of a program. Not only do they provide great education to each stakeholder, but more importantly, they work directly with the coaches to help them better understand the things that they should and should not be doing with their student athletes and preparing them to help them succeed on the court or on the field, to help them grow and develop and improve as a student athlete. In addition to the education, they do a phenomenal job at working with our coaches to put preventative measures in place. Above and beyond that, they do a really outstanding job at kind of being that extra set of eyes in a precautionary measure. They're able to kind of step away from the action. They don't have as many responsibilities happening all at once as a coach does and they're able to really based on the relationships they've built with athletes, and based on what they know is each athlete’s normal, they're able to identify what an athlete is perhaps acting abnormal. They're able to work with the coach to pull that individual and to do a proper assessment to determine if they're okay to continue to practice and play or if they need to sit out for the rest of the day simply because they're ill or if there's actually an injury or possibly a concussion which is one of the biggest concerns at which time they can provide that emergency and urgent care. That way they can provide the services needed to that student athlete to help them get back to the court or back to the field as quickly as possible in the most safe way.

Anthony Godfrey:
We also have principal Brady Bartholomew, athlete coach, and now high school principal. Talk to us about not just the importance of the role of the athletic trainer but of these two individuals specifically.

Brady Bartholomew:
Yes, so just having these two individuals in the in the building helps tremendously. We've talked about just what they bring to the table as far as athletic training and what they do for our athletes. But just taking a little bit of a different avenue here, the relationships that they have built with our students, it's fun to see that it is now sparking an interest for our kids to maybe you know take on a job professionally later on in life whether it's in medicine or whatever that is. It's just fun to watch these kids interact and see what goes into their job.

Anthony Godfrey:
They see it as a career option after they see what a support these two are to their to their time as a student athlete.

Brady Bartholomew:
Absolutely and they're so passionate about it and to have somebody that just brings that that energy to these kids staying in day out. Like I mentioned, it's just sparked an interest to them.

Anthony Godfrey:
And as they mentioned there, it's the relationship that draws them to this profession that you get to work consistently with student athletes.

Brady Bartholomew:
Absolutely.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the specific things that you work with coaches on to prevent injuries?

Brianna Howard:
Yeah, so I think it's a lot of education of just like maintaining like is it smart to practice a hundred percent every single day. I know yesterday my girls soccer team had an easier practice just kind of like a walk-through practice to get ready for their game day today. That's the same thing with our football programs. The day before a game will be an easier practice and more of a walk-through just so their bodies kind of have that close to 48 hours to recover prior to game day so they're not sore going into a game but their bodies are fueled and ready to go.

Anthony Godfrey:
What do you love most about being an athletic trainer?

Kaiden Brown:
Therapist by any means but being able to able to help the athletes not only physically but also mentally through their injuries is something that I enjoy a lot. Just seeing their first time back on the field after an injury is something that is indescribable. Being able to just help the athlete go back to doing something that they love.

Brianna Howard:
I think a thing that's really fun about high school athletic training is you have a lot of autonomy. A lot of times we are the only health care provider that our student athletes will see and so we have a role to advocate for just being an allied health care provider in general. But also giving them a safe space to advocate for their bodies too. I think sometimes just in medicine it's hard for athletes with appointments and doctors trying to see so many patients throughout the day that we really do give our athletes the time and the bandwidth to listen and hear everything they have to say; from their injury to even how their school day is going how their home life is going and just giving them a space to feel safe and feel that they're always going to be protected and advocated for no matter what.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us what it is like day to day as an athletic trainer what does your schedule look like?

Brianna Howard:
Yeah, so we're really in season for 10 months out of the year with the fall winter and spring. So I just moved over to look at my schedule here that's in our office. Today with Mountain Ridge specifically, we have a home girls soccer game so our role as athletic trainers is to be there for that home game and to be present for both the varsity and JV game physically pressing out at the field. Then our girls tennis and girls volleyball teams are both away so we're here maybe a little early to prepare them for their bus ride and get their taping needs and any treatment needs done prior to them leaving for their away game. Then we'll be on campus through the entirety of the girl soccer game helping our own athletes do preventative taping if they need it prior to the game, to do treatment prior to the game, but we are also on site for the away team as well. So we help both the our home athletes of course and we also help the away athletes when they travel here on campus for the sports as well. So that's just today but then tomorrow is just a practice day for all of our fall sports and then of course we have Thursday Friday, the busyness of fall with football, so then we have that to look forward to as well. But we also sometimes have home football games the same day that we have home soccer games or home volleyball games as well, so every day is kind of controlled chaos of figuring out what takes priority and being sure that all our athletes are taking care of appropriately. But yeah, five days out of the week it just depends on what day it is and what athletes are doing things.

Anthony Godfrey:
You've been here since the start since the hard hat days when . . .

Brianna Howard:
Yes I've been here since 2019 and the hard hat days of figuring out where the training room is amongst the school

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Yeah speaking of what we said earlier, when I was deadlifting 800 pounds earlier this morning at 4 a.m. I injured my elbow. Maybe afterward we can take a look at it.

Kaiden Brown:
I’ll take a look at it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay perfect. That'd be great. Well, thank you very much for taking the time today and for your dedication to our student athletes. When I was a high school assistant principal, we had athletic trainers when we could get them and to have both of you here is a huge, huge help to all of our athletes. So thank you very much for everything that you're doing.

Brianna Howard:
Yeah, its our pleasure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you will do today!” We'll see you out there.