Injuries are one of the unavoidable challenges of sports. Many athletes can attest to the struggle of staying healthy while in season, and with an athletic department as large as Evanston’s, plenty of injuries are bound to happen.
That’s where the athletic trainers come in.
Working for the health of so many Wildkit athletes is a tall task, and it requires a lot of work and effort from the athletic trainers on a daily basis.
“We do a lot of things,” explained Head Athletic Trainer Khaliah Elliston. “Rehabilitation, evaluation, and treatment for all student-athletes; doing physicals; making sure our kids are concussion-tested. But our main job is covering and overseeing athletic events and responding to emergencies that arise within athletic events.”
All of these services pay off for athletes. The athletic training department has become a vital resource for staying healthy and successful during a sports season.
“If any of my teammates are hurt, they can just schedule an appointment with the athletic trainer and get an idea of what their injury is, free of charge,” said sophomore baseball player Ian Pavich. “It’s right in school, so they can go there during a free period, lunch, or right after school. It’s really easy and available to access.”
It is a lot of work to provide all of these services to the athletes that need them, and the athletic trainers get it done despite some difficult challenges and, often, a lack of recognition.
“We are understaffed. It’s not enough manpower to cover everything that we have going on at Evanston,” admitted Elliston. “I definitely will say that we’re underappreciated. It’s just not at Evanston; it is a field that is underappreciated as a whole.”
“I feel like they could be appreciated a little bit more because they’re good at what they do. They diagnose fast, give you what things to work on, and refer you to places, so they do a lot,” agreed Pavich.
Despite all of the hard things about the job that athletic trainers have to deal with, being able to help Wildkits stay healthy and perform at their best makes it worth it for them.
“Seeing these kids happy playing their sports absolutely makes my day, and it makes my job ten times easier,” said Elliston. “It makes me feel like I did what I was supposed to do today.”
