A New Call to Action
JJ Klein
They are some of the unsung heroes in sports.
Too often much of their work goes unnoticed due to the few glimpses into their profession that are available to the public eye. Thus, they are often reduced to just the people who tape ankles and run out on the field to tend to an injured player.
However, those brief moments of visibility fail to encapsulate just how much the role of being an athletic trainer entails. That’s why the National Athletic Training Association (NATA), an organization of over 45,000 members, sponsors March as National Athletic Training Month – as an effort to spread awareness of the work that athletic trainers do as health care professionals.
This year’s slogan was fittingly “ATs Impact Health Care Through Action.”
Members of the Army West Point athletic training staff have stepped up to a call to action that seemed unimaginable just a few months ago. This group is volunteering to assist in monitoring the health of individuals entering West Point, a measure instituted by the United States Military Academy (USMA) as a part of its COVID-19 response.
USMA officials reached out to the athletic department seeking individuals with medical backgrounds to volunteer at West Point’s entrance gates. The request was then relayed to Tim Kelly, Army’s head athletic trainer.
“It was really quick. It happened over the course of a couple hours,” Kelly said. “They just asked who’s interested. I sent an email out to my staff and we had about 15 volunteers right away.”
The group has been working in shifts, some of which range from 6-8 hours, since March 28. Individuals seeking to get on to West Point must go through the first checkpoint where they are asked a series of questions pertaining to their health. Dependent on their answers in the preliminary check, they are then sent to a second checkpoint where the group has been stationed.
Among the volunteers is Ben Leary, who is in his ninth year working at West Point and serves as the athletic trainer for Army's men’s basketball and golf teams.
“Based on what they answered 'yes' to at the first checkpoint, we go through their history. We might take a temperature depending if they’re symptomatic or not,” Leary said. “From there, we consult with the medic on staff or the physicians at Keller Hospital to come up with a course of action.
It can either be to release them because they are not a threat to the public, to quarantine them for 14 days or send them to the hospital for possible testing.”
Volunteering at the gate has certainly presented a change in environment from the training rooms, practices and games they have grown accustomed to as athletic trainers. Nevertheless, the collective urge to help out in a time of need has helped them to adapt to a new role.
“As athletic trainers, that’s part of what we do. We help people when they’re sick or injured and try to help them maintain their health. This was kind of a normal extension of that process.”
“As athletic trainers, that’s part of what we do. We help people when they’re sick or injured and try to help them maintain their health,” Kelly noted. “This was kind of a normal extension of that process.”
“For us we’ve gone from being on post 6-7 days a week just to support our athletes. This is just kind of a way to get back to normal for us and be back on Post and helping out in some way possible," Leary said.
While they both humbly note this new responsibility as a natural extension of their job, their assistance is still completely voluntary.
“Our ATs are civilians, so for them to understand and exhibit such selfless traits shows me that they are all in on the USMA values of ‘Living Honorably, Leading Honorably and Demonstrating Excellence’ in every facet of their lives."
"Our ATs are civilians, so for them to understand and exhibit such selfless traits shows me that they are all in on the USMA values of ‘Living Honorably, Leading Honorably and Demonstrating Excellence’ in every facet of their lives,” Army Athletic Director Mike Buddie said. “It also tells me that they want to help in any way possible, to keep people safe and help us return to normalcy as quickly as possible.”
Their volunteering also comes on top of doing their normal job. Through different venues, the athletic trainers have been keeping in touch with athletes from their assigned sports.
“I’ve been keeping my staff fairly busy in continuing to monitor our athletes that went home,” Kelly commented. “We have a number of athletes that went home that were injured or in need of surgery. So, we continue to interact with them either through email, text message or whatever media that we can find to engage them.”
“We’re still conversing with our athletes every day doing telehealth, which has been a big change that we’re trying to get used to right now,” Leary revealed. “That’s been kind of a monumental change for us because we are used to face-to-face interactions and being able to get instant feedback from them.”
The trainers have additionally used this time to evaluate their practices in an effort improve their procedures.
“I’ve had them do a few upgrades on some of our policies and procedures,” Kelly commented. “Some of them have been on webinars and doing some continuing education. So, on top of that to do a work shift -- some of these work shifts start at 4 in the morning -- I’m happy that my staff can add that to the stuff that they’re already doing. It really shows you how selfless they are.”
Until the point that there is a return to some normalcy, both suggest that the general public continues to do their part in social distancing and keeping up with current recommendations.
“Today I think we’re starting to see the benefits of staying at home and following the guidance of the professionals out there,” Kelly stated. “As hard as it is, we need to continue to follow that advice as it comes out.”
“The best advice right now is stay at home, wash your hands, follow any guidelines given by the CDC or the government,” Leary echoed.