Standing with the players on the sidelines, three athletics trainers for the Center Grove High School football team are watching the game in a different way than fans or coaches.
On a touchdown run, most eyes are on the player carrying the ball across the goal line, but trainers are scanning the field for scenes others might miss.
They watch how players get up from the ground, how they’ve responded to big hits or if players are limping or possibly have a concussion when they return to the sideline benches.
During games, head athletics trainer Dave Buchholz handles the defense, while Brittany Mann is responsible for the offense. A third trainer, Rob Kalmes, is sometimes on hand to assist them.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“Usually we are watching the game in a very different way,” Mann said.
Once the offense returns to the sideline, Mann will check the players to see if they have cuts or other injuries. If she noticed that a player may have been injured, whether they were limping or took a hard hit, she will check them out. During the downtime before the players head back to the field she will bandage cuts, treat injuries and re-tape players.
Trainers also check for sprains, broken bones, concussions or other injuries. If they determine a player is too hurt to go back into the game, they will let the coaches know.
The three athletics trainers are all Indiana University Health employees assigned to cover athletics at the Center Grove schools. During games, John Baldea, a sports medicine physician from IU Health, will be on-site as well.
In 2013, IU Health partnered with Center Grove to be the official sports medicine provider for the school. As part of the 10-year contract, IU Health pays the school $65,000 a year and provides athletics trainers, a sports medicine physician and a concussion management program for athletes. In exchange, IU Health receives exclusive health care advertising rights on Center Grove’s athletics fields and facilities.
Center Grove uses the trainers during games but also during practices, and athletes can see the trainers before and after practice for ongoing injuries or conditions.
As the season winds to a close, weekday treatments for injured players are done with a little more urgency, Buchholz said.
Trainers will be more apt to schedule a doctor appointment or do an X-ray right away, rather than taking a wait-and-see approach with injuries, he said.
At this point in the year with 13 games in the books, everyone is playing with bumps and bruises, he said.
The challenge for trainers is to keep those bumps and bruises from becoming anything worse, Buchholz said.
Trainers have the chance to work with players before and after practices. Weekday treatments can range from icing injured muscles to various stretches and exercises for strengthening. Prior to each practice and game, the trainers will tape up ankles, wrists or knees, another step to prevent injuries.
One issue trainers face, especially in playoff and championship games, is balancing the desire of players to get back on the field with the need to make sure they aren’t putting themselves in harms way by playing through an injury.
“It is a harder decision in the postseason,” Mann said.
The trainers do their best to get the players back on the field, but if doing so isn’t safe for a player, such as if they have suffered a concussion, they will let the coaches know to hold that player out, she said.
“The main thing with our job is to make sure athletes are healthy and safe,” Mann said. “If we feel it is something they shouldn’t be playing through, we will tell the coaches that.”
If the trainers make the call that it isn’t safe for a player to return to the field, the coaches follow it, she said.
“We try to allow an athlete to give as much as they can,” Buchholz said. “If the injury means they can’t play or be effective, we will hold them out regardless of time and season.”
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Check out more coverage of the upcoming state championship in today’s sports section.
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