Americans love watching their favorite football team under the Friday night lights, but there’s a group on the field that doesn’t always gain recognition.
This band of brothers and sisters are at every football game and ready for anything. These underappreciated, yet vital, people are athletic trainers.
Suriel Alvarez, Macie Braddick, Brittney Brown, and Kendale Pagan, athletic trainers for Splendora High School athletics, recently discussed the challenges they face and why they do what they do.
Some want to go into the medical field, while others want to be in sports medicine, but the most common reason was that they all want to help.
When asked what it feels like to be on the sideline on Friday nights, Suriel Alvarez said, “It’s intense. We’re just as nervous as the players and our adrenaline is pumping just as much no matter what the scoreboard says.”
She describes everything as being “on the spot.” Being a trainer pretty much means being ready for anything short of the apocalypse.
What is the one thing the players ask for the most other than water? Band-aids.
To become a trainer, you must be CPR certified, but. According to Alvarez, it’s a lot of “learning on the job” under Travis “Doc” Jones’s tutelage. It also allows them to be a part of an amazing group of servant leaders and earn volunteer hours. The 2018-2019 Athletic Trainers are Seniors Suriel Alvarez, Casey Avellaneda, Maddie Brown,Yadira Campuzano, Brisa Carmona, Raymunda Covarrubias, Frankie Gonzales, and Mario Maldonado; Junior Brittney Brown; Sophomores Macie Braddick, Emmali Hartless, Jacob Hinton, and Bennet Martin; Freshmen Priscilla Gomez, Kira Marksberry, Kendale Pagan, Tatum Perry, Sandy Rodriguez and Nayelee Zepeda.
By Splendora High School GEARS (Growing Exceptional Adaptable Resourceful Students) Intern Joey Morrow